2024-07-22 19:07:15
Moldova plans to increase the share of military spending in GDP from 0.55% to 1% by 2030. This is stated in the draft defense strategy, which was approved by the government and published on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website. The document must be approved by the country’s parliament, Day.Az reports with reference to TASS.
“Defense spending should reach 1% of GDP by 2030 in line with European trends,” the document notes. It says that in 2023, military spending was increased from 0.39% to 0.55%. Additional funds were allocated to modernize the army. One of the goals set by the strategy is to improve the country’s position in the Global Firepower rating, where the republic ranks 144th out of 145. According to the plan, by 2029 the country should rise by five positions, and by 2034 – by ten.
Since 1994, the Moldovan Armed Forces have begun the process of reducing their personnel, reducing it by approximately 60% to 6,000 servicemen. Today, the Moldovan army is armed with a dozen and a half transport aircraft and helicopters, about two hundred armored personnel carriers, and more than a hundred guns and mortars. This equipment is mainly of Soviet design from the 1960s-80s.
In 2023, the republic’s authorities increased the military budget by 68%, to 1.5 billion lei ($89 million). The US, EU and NATO also increased the supply of weapons and military equipment to the republic. The militarization of Moldova has caused concern among the authorities of the unrecognized Transnistria. Tiraspol is also concerned about the increased frequency of exercises near the dividing security zone, which is guarded by Russian peacekeepers.
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