Germany is set to double the number of peacekeepers it sends abroad in an attempt to meet ever increasing demands for troops from international organizations.
Germany will soon have 15,000 soldiers ready to be deployed in general peacekeeping tasks, with NATO's special Response Force and to the European Union's Rapid Reaction Force, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung told
the International Herald Tribune Monday.
Currently, the country has troops on mission in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and on the Horn of Africa.
Germany will have 6,600 men ready for the NATO Response Force by July and Berlin plans to give the numbers a further boost to meet international demands for peacekeepers.
"Our plan is to have 35,000 highly trained soldiers for missions," the defense chief said, talking of Berlin's long term ambitions. "Furthermore, there will be 70,000 soldiers trained for providing stability for long-term peacekeeping missions and 145,000 support troops."
Jung also said Germany's 2006 defense budget would be $29.6 billion which amounts to 1.4 percent of gross domestic product. Earlier this year U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ticked off Berlin for spending too little
on defense. However, Jung promised that this would change. "In the near future if the German economy is better, there will be more available," he promised.
