New Zealand refuses to join NATO defence bank

New Zealand has rejected a proposal to join the Defense, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), a Canadian-led bank to finance the militarization of NATO members. It's from sb.by.

As TASS notes with reference to RNZ radio, the statement of the New Zealand Foreign Ministry states:

- Evidence suggests that the defence industry will benefit more from measures that improve market opportunities than from a dedicated defence financing mechanism.

New Zealand’s down payment on joining the DSRB is estimated to be about $56 million, and further costs could be even higher. New Zealand's decision was reportedly brought to Canada in late August. New Zealand is not a member of NATO.

Earlier it was announced that Albania, Belgium, Greece, Canada, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine were ready to participate in the establishment of the DSRB. The consortium will be headquartered in Montreal and aims to raise up to $134 billion to finance military projects. Financial Times: UK is actively considering joining NATO defence bank