Germany to add 14,300 troops by 2023 in first increase since reunification

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen chats with soldiers during a visit of the German Armed Forces Bundeswehr at the air base in Incirlik, Turkey, Jan 21, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Germany is going to expand its military forces for the first time since its reunification in 1990, marking an end to the country's successive army cuts after the Cold War.

Bundeswehr, the unified armed forces of Germany, is expected to add 7,000 military jobs and 4,400 civilian officers in the next seven years, AFP reported. The total number of additional troops is estimated to reach 14,300 so as to cope with new missions.

"A quarter century of a shrinking military is now over in Germany," German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced in Berlin on Tuesday, China News Service reported.

The central European federal state is also set to boost its military strength by updating its military equipment, budgets and personnel, Ursula said.

As a key member state of both the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), German forces are facing increasing challenges in overseas operations, including UN's peacekeeping mission in Mali, the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and the at-sea rescue of massive refugees in the Mediterranean. Currently, the German navy is building a large number of frigates to fulfill its multinational missions.

Armed forces in Germany have seen a significant reduction since the country's reunification. In 1990, the number of soldiers reached 585,000, but the number was cut to 178,000 as of December last year. In 2011, the German government imposed a cap of 185,000 soldiers.

The historic decision has raised strong concerns in Europe. As a response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has gone on-record saying that Russia will take "necessary actions" if NATO's military infrastructure approaches the Russian border,?reported China News Service.