Nato chief says 18 countries meet 2% military spending target

Eighteen NATO countries will hit the target of 2% in defence spending of their gross domestic product in 2024, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

"I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defence this year," Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels.

He added that NATO's European states would invest a combined total of $380 billion in defence this year.