LONDON/BERLIN - United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday to inject an additional 75 million British pounds (about $97.3 million) to combat the people-smuggling issue.

In a speech to the 92nd session of the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow, Starmer called on global leaders to "wake up to the severity" of the challenge smuggling presents to border security.

People-smuggling is "a vile trade that must be stamped out" and should be viewed as "a global security threat similar to terrorism", he said.

READ MORE: Britain's foreign aid budget faces cuts amid fiscal constraints

The prime minister said the extra cash injection would bring investment in the UK's new Border Security Command over the next two years to 150 million pounds. The money will help fund additional specialist investigators and surveillance equipment.

The announcement came after 5,417 people crossed the Channel in small boats in October, the highest monthly figure for illegal crossings since October 2022.  

Also on Monday in Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will continue its commitment to strengthening defense forces in the coming years, including modernizing the Bundeswehr with a special fund of 100 billion euros (about $108 billion).

ALSO READ: Over half of human trafficking incidents in Canada unsolved

Scholz made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Noting that Germany has reached the target of spending 2 percent of its economic output on defense for the first time this year, Scholz said that "we will continue resolutely down this path".

READ MORE: Norway extends border controls amid heightened terror threat

"All NATO allies must invest more, and I trust that Germany will continue to step up," Rutte said at the press conference.

During the visit, the two sides discussed continued support for Ukraine.