OTTAWA, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Canada will work with international partners to see what role it can play in setting up a proposed new multilateral defense bank to help Europe and NATO members rearm, Ottawa said on Friday.
Backers of the proposed Defense, Security and Resilience Bank hope it will become a global state-backed institution with a triple-A credit rating, capable of raising $135 billion to fund defense projects.
Germany and Britain have said they will not support the bank.
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced Canada’s interest in posting on X after holding talks with more than 10 countries.
“In the coming months … (we) will work closely with international partners to lead Canada’s contribution to advancing the DSRB,” he said.
Germany said increased defense financing should come through the EU’s new European Security Action Plan, which provides member states with loans of up to 150 billion euros ($175 billion) for joint purchases.
In September, a UK government source said officials were concerned the DSRB proposals would not achieve the government’s aim of increasing value for defense spending.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Maria Cheng; Editing by Chris Reese)
