Afghanistan to increase defence spending
The report finds that the Afghan defence expenditure grew at a robust CAGR of 18.5% over the last four years, from $0.9 billion in 2011 to $1.8 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $3.4 billion in 2020.
The measures undertaken to reconstruct all aspects of the military have propelled the government to allocate 8.4% of its GDP towards the defence sector in 2015; which is forecasted to increase to 11.6% of GDP by 2020.
"Afghanistan is working in collaboration with the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan (NTM-A) and the ISAF Joint Command (IJC) to achieve its goal of establishing a strong security environment,” said Karthik Devisetty, analyst at SDI. Afghanistan has a history of tribal and sectarian violence and was constantly plagued by civil wars. The country is now putting a significant emphasis on reconstructing the defence industry which is facilitated by the recent democratisation of it.
Afghanistan’s efforts to boost its combat readiness can be attributed to the threats rising from the Taliban’s frequent attacks and illegal drug traders. However, “the turmoil in the country has hampered its defence industrial capability, making the country reliant on imports,” according to Devisetty.
Historically, Afghanistan procured arms under NATO negotiated deals. However, since 2014, foreign defence equipment manufacturers can enter the Afghan defence industry by supplying equipment through government to government deals.
