Jakarta. Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said Wednesday that world military spending hit an all-time high in 2022 with many countries diverting the money initially intended for development into new weapon purchases.

Global defense spending is also skyrocketing amid the Russia-Ukraine war, which still rages on to this day. 

“The global military spending totaled $2.24 trillion last year, marking the highest spend in history. With such shifts, the resources intended to build economic and social growth became smaller in size. Food and energy prices are also on the rise as a result of many factors, including the war in Ukraine,” Retno told a Permata Bank forum in Jakarta.

Retno also brought the forum’s attention to the sluggish progress in sustainable development goals (SDGs), which countries across the globe had pledged to achieve by 2030. 

According to Retno, only 12 percent of the SDG targets are on track. Progress has even stalled or reversed in 30 percent of the SDGs, while 50 percent grew at an incredibly slow pace. World hunger has been at its worst since 2005. One-third of developing nations are facing a debt crisis. Rich countries are falling short of their promises, including their pledge to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance to less wealthy nations.

“UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] called for a global rescue plan in an effort to fast-track the SDG achievements. This includes an SDG stimulus of $500 billion a year,” Retno said.

“That is a lot of money. We don’t know where we can get the money if war and instability persist, So imagine if we only have one envelope, and most [of the money] in the said envelope is going to military spending. What remains for other needs will get smaller,” Retno added.

Retno’s statement on military spending was based on a think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute finding. The same report also indicated a 13 percent increase in Europe’s military expenditure in 2022, while attributing the surge to Russian and Ukrainian spending. Data shows Russian military expenditure totaled $86.4 billion, while Ukraine spent $44 billion. The report called the US the world’s top military spender in 2022, with its expenditure reaching $877 billion. Washington’s military spending accounted for 39 percent of the world total. News outlet CNBC Indonesia wrote that Indonesia’s defense ministry budget stood at Rp 150.44 trillion (approximately $9 billion) last year.

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