(Ottawa, ON) - Canada and the United Kingdom will develop a cooperation framework between their separate defence-financing initiatives, the governments said in a joint statement Sunday, October 25.

The Multilateral Defence Mechanism and the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank will remain distinct institutions. The statement says they are intended to coordinate on industrial priorities, investment opportunities and financing challenges as they become operational.

The Canadian Press reports that Britain has opted against joining the Canada-led bank and is pursuing the Multilateral Defence Mechanism instead.

The joint statement provides no launch date, lending terms or new funding amount. Its stated aims are stronger defence capabilities and more efficient spending; it does not establish that those outcomes have been achieved.

Sources: Department of Finance Canada, October 25 joint statement; The Canadian Press via CityNews.

Editorial illustration; not a documentary photograph.