Romania and Ukraine have taken the first concrete steps toward implementing a joint project for the development and production of drones, as reported by the Ministry of National Defence of Romania.
On Tuesday, March 31, Romanian Minister of National Defence Radu Miruță held a meeting at the ministry headquarters with Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defence for European Integration, Serhii Boiev.
The talks focused on exploring cooperation between the Romanian and Ukrainian ministries of defense in the context of the Strategic Partnership recently signed by the presidents of the two countries, as well as implementing the Financial Instrument “Security Actions for Europe” (SAFE).
During the meeting, officials discussed the possibility of developing and producing unmanned aerial vehicles in direct cooperation with Ukraine, as well as options for technology transfer.
"The project benefits from 200 million euros through the SAFE Program, in co-production, and we wish the MoND to be a centerpiece in this collaboration, not just a beneficiary. Therefore, we are currently discussing how to make up a team to deal exclusively with this project, the signing deadline of the contract being the end of May," Minister Miruță said.
According to him, Romania will benefit from Ukraine’s battlefield experience and will gain personnel and infrastructure to produce advanced equipment whenever necessary.
“It will also be an advantage for Ukraine, namely the fact that Romania's participation in the SAFE Project will finance the production of drones,” the minister added.
Meetings between specialists and relevant companies from Romania and Ukraine — including 15 Ukrainian companies presenting their portfolios and technical capabilities — will continue in the coming days.
