Spain remains a “reliable partner” within NATO, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez affirmed on Wednesday, following US President Donald Trump's criticism of Spain's financial contributions to the alliance.

Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sanchez highlighted that Spain has boosted its defence spending by 70% over the past decade, with 30% of that investment allocated to new equipment, exceeding NATO's 20% benchmark.

Sanchez also highlighted that the Spanish military's involvement in NATO operations is “well above the average.”

“We are a reliable partner and I think you have to look more broadly to see if a country is committed or not with the security of NATO's allies,” Spain’s PM went on to add.

NATO allies are set to discuss raising defence spending targets beyond the current 2% of GDP at a summit in The Hague this summer, Reuters news agency reports.

President Trump has called for all members to increase their contributions to 5% of GDP, a target that no NATO country currently meets.

Spain allocated $22.27 billion to defence in 2024, making it the 10th largest contributor in absolute terms among the 31 NATO allies, according to NATO figures.

However, this represents an estimated 1.28% of its GDP, the lowest in relative terms. In comparison, the US spent 3.38% of its GDP on defence last year, based on preliminary NATO data.

“Spain is very low,” Trump remarked on Monday when questioned about the country’s NATO contributions. That said, he also mistakenly claimed that Spain was a member of the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and other emerging economies, the Reuters report adds.