Britain declines to join Canada-led defence bank but agrees to cooperate

Britain has declined to join Canada’s Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which is intended to help allies borrow more cheaply for military spending.

Canada and Britain instead agreed to develop a framework for cooperation between the bank and Britain’s Multilateral Defence Mechanism.

The two governments will keep their initiatives separate but complementary, and say they will work together on investment opportunities and strategic challenges.

The plans differ in focus: the British initiative is intended to support faster defence investment and joint purchasing, while the Canadian bank is focused more on lending to individual countries and defence industries.

The countries could not agree on key details, including the bank’s headquarters, lending rules and how new members would join, according to a source familiar with the talks.

Cooperation is meant to help both initiatives support NATO allies, including by addressing investment needs and procurement costs.

The DSRB is planned to be based in Canada, and the two countries say their initiatives will work in close partnership.