The Minister of National Defence, Adrian THutuianu, along with secretaries of state Mircea Dusa and Florin Lazar Vladica and the chief of General Staff, General Nicolae Ciuca met with a delegation of the General Dynamics European Land Systems, part of the General Dynamics Corporation, on Friday, August 4. Representatives of the Ministry of Economy took part in the discussions as well.

The talks agenda included topics such as identifying ways to achieve such partnerships at the level of the national defence industry that can be adapted to the operational needs of the military, developing a joint venture to secure the transfer of state-of-the-art technology and the consolidation of Romania's status as security provider in the Romanian economy.

During the talks it was mentioned that the 8×8 armoured personnel carrier is already one of the eight major strategic procurement programs. For the defence ministry, the acquisition and production of the armoured personnel carrier in Romania is of interest for security, meaning that it ensures supply and maintenance of the equipment for its entire lifecycle.

The increase of the defence budget with 2 percent of the GDP, from 2017 on, created the circumstances to initiate the procurement programs necessary to speed up upgrading military equipment in agreement with the initiatives that are a priority for the defence ministry and the Governace program for 2017-2020, defence minister THutuianu concluded.

The meeting is part of a series of consultations initiated by the minister of national defence with representatives of the defence industry in partnership with the Ministry of Economy.

Press Department