Latvia will have to raise its defence budget to at least 4% of GDP in the coming years, President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LSM reports. Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Evika Silina, Rinkevics insisted that the current defence spending of 3.45% of GDP was not enough. He noted that Latvia had “a rather serious problem” with its military industry and that not everything needed was immediately available, LETA reported. Meanwhile, Silina stressed that the most important thing was to procure necessary defence equipment and to develop Latvia’s own defence industry. However, it was not possible to produce everything locally, which is why NATO members need to cooperate on defence capabilities, Silina pointed out.
Read Less, Know More.