Luxembourg will be European headquarters of new multilateral defence bank

Luxembourg will be the European base of a new multilateral defence bank to ​be headquartered in Canada, Canada's Prime ‌Minister Mark Carney said on Friday.

Five Canadian cities are competing to host the proposed Defence, Security ​and Resilience Bank championed by Carney. ​

The bank aims to raise $135 billion to ⁠fund defence projects, particularly in countries that ​struggle to access cheaper finance.

The ​bank will let small and medium-sized defence firms meet a surge in demand for weapons and other ​military equipment, particularly since the Ukraine war, ​and argues that other initiatives - including a European Union ‌loan ⁠programme - have not done enough.

"There is a critical mass of countries that intend to join... Canada is one of them, and ​we will ​be the ⁠headquarters, Luxembourg is the European headquarters," Carney told reporters on Friday.

He ​said he looked forward to discussing ​the ⁠bank with the new UK Prime Minister.
Industry watchers expect more clarity on which countries ⁠might ​back the bank after the ​NATO meeting in Ankara next month.


-Reuters