Carney hails submarine deal as NATO win amid South Korea concerns

Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Canada’s decision to award a submarine contract to Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems during the NATO summit in Ankara, calling it the right choice for Canada and for the alliance. Carney met with leaders from Germany and Norway in a trilateral session to mark the agreement for up to 12 submarines, while also speaking briefly with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung after South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean lost the competition. Canadian officials said the conversation with Lee was constructive and stressed that Ottawa still values the CanadaSouth Korea relationship. Defence Minister David McGuinty said there could still be future cooperation between the two countries, including in military equipment. The summit also included a separate announcement that Canada and eight other mostly small European countries will join efforts to create a Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a financing model intended to lower borrowing costs for securityrelated investments. Analysts at the summit said NATO countries still need to focus spending on immediate capability gaps such as drones and air defence.