NATO's Secretary General's Annual Report is published. The report underlines that without NATO, there is no security in Europe. The 172-page report indicates the strengths and weaknesses of an alliance to form a better one. When Turkiye is considered, its defence expenditure as a share of GDP is 1,58 per cent. Türkiye is below NATO's per cent 2 guideline. On the other hand, Turkiye's equipment expenditure as a share of defence expenditure is 28,7. This rate is above NATO's per cent 20 guideline. According to a public survey, an increasing majority of Allied citizens (77 per cent) think that defence spending should either be maintained at current levels or increased. Turkish people ranked second after Albania, with 88 per cent support for increasing defence expenditures. In Albania, 97 per cent of the people demand this increase. The two people who follow Turkiye most closely are Finland (87 per cent) and Sweden (82 per cent), which both recently joined NATO.
The report also indicates “Engagement with the Science and Technology Organization’s Collaborative Programme of Work in 2023”. Turkiye is ranked fourth after the U.S., U.K., and Germany.
