Hegseth confident Nato members will agree to defence spending hike

Pentagon chief says progress made in getting nations to commit to Trump's target

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BRUSSELS - US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on June 5 he was confident that members of the Nato alliance would sign up to US President Donald Trump's demand for a major boost in defence spending, adding that it had to happen by a summit later in June.

The US President has said Nato allies should boost investment in defence to 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from the current target of 2 per cent.

No country is yet at 5 per cent, not even the US, but Mr Hegseth said there was progress on agreeing to the target.

"I'm very encouraged by what we heard in there," said Mr Hegseth after a morning meeting of Nato defence ministers on June 5 in Brussels.

"Countries in there are well exceeding 2 per cent and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a 5 per cent commitment to Nato."

As he arrived at the Nato gathering earlier in the day, Mr Hegseth said such a commitment by all members to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence had to happen by the June 24 to 25 summit of Nato leaders.

"We think everybody's going to get there," he said later, adding that a few countries were not quite there yet.