The NATO Alliance has launched a new ‘Call to Action’ to global financial institutions, as they meet for the first day of the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Turkey. The initiative – announced at the start of this week’s Summit in Ankara – calls for an increase in private capital investment in defence, security and resilience across the Alliance.
Speaking at the event, the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed that significantly more investment is needed to meet the growing demand for defence capabilities. “To keep our defences strong, we need to sustain and scale our industries and fuel innovation across the defence sector. And for this, we need capital,” he said.
He also noted that while more private capital is flowing into defence than before, “…it’s not nearly enough.”
The Call to Action encourages financial institutions to increase lending and equity investments in the defence, security and resilience sectors, while Allies are expected to strengthen domestic financing mechanisms and support public-private co-investment models. The initiative was welcomed by major financial institutions, including Banco Santander, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, NatWest, PKO Bank Polski, Danske Bank, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF).
Together, these institutions have already mobilised 217 billion dollars in capital for defence and security. The Secretary General described the launch as “…just the beginning…” and said he would work closely with the financial sector to further increase investment in Allied defence.
As part of its own ongoing work to help close that gap, Ari Jonsson, the President of NIF – the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund, backed by 24 Allied nations and deploying a €1 billion mandate – was quick to personally welcome the call from NATO, saying: “This is exactly the combination the Alliance needs: governments setting direction, and a widening coalition of financial institutions delivering capital at scale.”
IMAGE: Courtesy NATO Innovation Fund
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