Canada's defense bank plan
Canada aims to announce around 10 founding member countries at the NATO summit to be held in Turkey next week. Isabelle Hudon, Canada's chief negotiator in this multilateral initiative and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada, told Reuters: "We set the NATO summit as our deadline... Our goal is to announce the list of founding members."
The Defense, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), backed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, is part of a call for a "middle powers" alliance. Carney launched the initiative, arguing that the traditional U.S.-led world order is fragmenting.
The bank aims to strengthen the defense of allied countries by providing up to £100 billion ($133 billion) in low-cost financing. Hudon said the initial member list, apart from Canada, will consist entirely of European countries but declined to give names.
Final decision uncertain until summit
Hudon said the announcement is not definite and hinges on final talks with allies, particularly requiring agreement on capital commitments, but the project has gained momentum.
Hudon said: "Our prime minister's instruction was to launch without waiting for perfection and to gather countries that are ready as founding members. Membership will remain open afterwards."
South Korea's participation uncertain
Support from countries critical for the bank to obtain a triple-A credit rating has yet to be confirmed. Hudon said productive talks have been held with South Korea, that the likelihood of participation is "fifty-fifty," and that this could happen at a later stage. For now, none of the other G7 countries are close to participating, it was noted.
Canada's Department of Finance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
