Defence Minister, Adrian Tutuianu, on Friday met a delegation of General Dynamics European Land Systems, part of the General Dynamics Corporation, during the discussions highlighting the fact that, for the Ministry, the building and production of the armoured troop carrier in Romania is of key interest security-wise, reads a press release of MApN.
According to the said source, the meeting’s agenda included topics such as looking for ways to conclude such partnerships at the national defence industry level to be adjusted to the operational needs of the Army, the creation of a joint venture to secure the transfer of state-of-the-art technology and consolidation in the Romanian economy of Romania’s status as security provider.
“During the talks it was also mentioned the fact that the armoured troop carried 8×8 has already been listed as one of the eight strategic programmes that the Army committed to carry out as major endowment programmes. For MApN, the acquisition, building and production of the armoured troop carrier in Romania represents a key interest for security, in the sense that it secures supply and maintenance of the equipment for its entire lifecycle”, the release also says.
The meeting is part of a series of consultations held by the Minister of National Defence with the representatives of the defence industry in partnership with the Ministry of Economy.
Participating in the meeting there were also secretaries of state Mircea Dusa and Florin Lazar Vladica and the Chief of the General Staff, General Nicolae Ciuca.
“Today, Minister Mihai Fifor and I had an important discussion today with the representatives of an US company – General Dynamics Land Systems. There are two extremely important aspects for the Romanian defence industry that we talked about. We shall set up a joint venture by the end of this year and we expect that, around this time next year, in July-August that is, we will already have production lines right here in Romania, while working together with Uzina Mecanica from Bucharest. This also means that a transfer of state-of-the-art technology will be made in Romania, new jobs will be created, and more taxes and fees will be paid to the state budget”, the Defence Minister said in the beginning of the Government meeting.
Moreover, Minister Tutuianu asked for the support of Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. “We will kindly ask you to support us in our approach. Probably in two week’s time we will be able to come up with a more detailed presentation of this project before the Government”, Tutuianu said.
In his turn, the head of the Government said: “This is another example of how attractive Romania is. No less than three-four agreements have been concluded recently”.
