TORONTO, July 5 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will announce on Monday the preferred bidder in a contract to build 12 submarines for Canada’s navy, the Globe and Mail reported on Sunday.
The announcement will be made before Carney heads to a NATO leaders’ summit scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Turkey, the report said, citing sources.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two contenders for the contract are Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which is a German-Norwegian partnership, and South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean.
Canada, under pressure from the United States to increase defense spending, has hit NATO’s military spending target of 2% of GDP earlier than originally planned. NATO leaders have agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defense and security-related investments by 2035.
Canada is also aiming to announce around 10 founding nations for a global defense bank at the NATO summit.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
