Ukraine and Romania are discussing the joint production of drones as part of the SAFE program
Ukraine and Romania are negotiating the launch of joint drone production under the EU's SAFE initiative, with funding of up to 200 million euros.
This was reported by the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
On April 1, Minister of National Defense Radu Miruță met with Serhiy Boev, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for European Integration.
“During the meeting, officials discussed the possibility of developing and manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles in direct cooperation with Ukraine, as well as options for technology transfer,” the Romanian Ministry of Defense’s press service noted.
According to Miruta, the joint production project will receive 200 million euros through the SAFE program. He emphasized: “Our country will benefit from Ukraine’s battlefield experience and from having the personnel and infrastructure to produce state-of-the-art equipment when necessary. This will also be an advantage for Ukraine, particularly because Romania’s participation in the SAFE project will finance the production of drones.”
The minister stressed that Bucharest wants the Ministry of Defense to be “a central figure in this cooperation, not just a beneficiary.” Currently, the Romanian government is forming a team that will focus exclusively on this area.
It is expected that the contract for the project’s implementation could be signed by the end of May. The ministry also reported that meetings will take place in the coming days between experts and 15 specialized companies, during which Ukrainian companies will present their portfolios and capabilities.
As a reminder, Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz has begun negotiations with the Romanian company OMV Petrom regarding the development of a new gas field on the Black Sea shelf.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the start of work on the construction of two new power transmission lines between Ukraine and Romania. The project is intended to strengthen energy cooperation between the countries.
