The Netherlands will announce more than €3 billion ($3.43 billion) in new defence projects and agreements at a NATO forum in Ankara this week, Dutch Defence Minister Dilan Yesilgoz has said, as alliance members step up efforts to boost military spending and cooperation.
Speaking to Reuters in the Turkish capital on Monday ahead of the NATO summit, Yesilgoz said the package would include partnerships with Belgium on air defence and with Britain on naval vessels, while discussions were also underway to expand defence cooperation with Germany.
“We have several levels of plans with countries around us, within NATO,” Yesilgoz said.
“For the Netherlands, it will be ... well over 3 billion euros that we will have new — not only pledges, but concrete plans.”
The Dutch announcements form part of a broader push by NATO members to demonstrate increased defence investment and deeper military cooperation.
According to Yesilgoz, the Netherlands is strengthening ties with key European allies through joint procurement and capability-building projects.
“With Belgium air defence, for example, with the UK, we will be working together on maritime ships,” she said.
The Netherlands is also exploring additional collaborative projects with Germany, one of its closest defence partners within the alliance.
The announcements come ahead of a NATO summit that is expected to focus heavily on defence spending, a long-standing demand of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump is due to join leaders from NATO's 31 other member states in Ankara, with the summit beginning on Tuesday evening and continuing on Wednesday with a meeting of the alliance's North Atlantic Council.
NATO governments are expected to unveil a series of defence initiatives and spending commitments during the gathering as they respond to calls for greater burden-sharing within the alliance.
Asked whether she was confident the United States would remain committed to NATO despite Trump's past criticism of the alliance, Yesilgoz stressed the importance of transatlantic cooperation.
“I have to be confident, because I know that we need each other,” she said.
“We need each other ... for our own safety and security.”
At the same time, she argued that Europe should continue strengthening its own military capabilities regardless of political changes in Washington.
“I think it is healthy for Europe to invest more in its own defence and defence industries regardless of who is at the White House at the moment,” she said.
Yesilgoz also linked the need for higher defence spending to the continuing war in Ukraine, arguing that European security depended heavily on Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression.
“We have a war going on, and the only reason why that war is not coming near us is because Ukraine is standing,” she said in a separate interview.
“It's standing tall, it's standing firm, and they are fighting also for us.”
The Dutch minister said governments have a responsibility to do everything possible to protect their citizens, adding that increased defence expenditure was necessary to meet that goal.
The Netherlands' planned defence commitments are expected to be among a series of major announcements as NATO leaders gather in Ankara amid heightened security concerns across Europe and continued pressure to strengthen the alliance's military readiness.
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