Kosovo Plans 60% Increase in Defence Spending for Military Expansion
PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo plans to boost its defence spending by 60% over the next four years and to focus on acquiring Black Hawk helicopters and building plants to produce ammunition and drones, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Wednesday.
Kurti has repeatedly argued for increased defence spending to counter any potential threat from neighbouring Serbia, which still considers Kosovo part of its territory.
"In the next mandate, we will allocate one billion euros ($1.08 billion) for our army," Kurti told a cabinet meeting, up from 626 million euros over the previous four years.
Kurti's party came first in a parliamentary election in February with 41% of the vote but he is still seeking coalition partners.
Since coming to power in 2021, Kurti has steadily increased the defence budget. Kosovo bought a batch of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones in 2023 and last year it purchased Javelin anti-tank missiles worth $75 million.
NATO still has a force of more than 4,000 peacekeepers deployed mainly in northern Kosovo, which has seen the worst ethnic tensions over the past two years since the country declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Last week Kosovo and NATO members Albania and Croatia signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in the defence sector, annoying Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accused Albania and Croatia of pursuing an "arms race".
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(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; additional reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Editing by Gareth Jones)
