Ukraine, Belgium sign memorandum on join arms production

A memorandum of understanding signed between the Ministry of Defense of Belgium, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine gives impetus to the development of bilateral relations, particularly in the field of defense production.

That's according to Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, who signed the memorandum, Ukrinform reports, citing the website of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

"This is very important in the context of the development of the domestic defense industry, creation of joint ventures with partners, and localization of defense production in Ukraine. This is one of our priorities," Havryliuk said.

According to him, the memorandum outlines the intentions to implement joint projects aimed at increasing the potential and production volumes of the Ukrainian defense industry. These are plans for the joint production of certain types of weapons, repairs, training of specialists and technical personnel.

It is also planned to implement other measures aimed at building a modern defense industry in Ukraine.

"Ukraine is very interested in creating joint ventures that will function according to international standards. I am confident in our further fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation," Havryliuk said.

A Belgian-Ukrainian defense industry seminar was held last week. The event was organized by the Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Belgium and the Belgian Embassy in Ukraine. Representatives of 33 Ukrainian and 8 Belgian companies took part in the seminar.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine