Officials of the Ministry of Economy are discussing with many partners the possibility of making in Romania the equipment that the Ministry of National Defence, the Romanian armed forces and other law enforcing ministries need, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Stefan-Radu Oprea said on Wednesday at the Senate.
„Today, it is a reality at the Ministry of Economy that we talk to many potential partners – talks with some are very advanced – but it is something I learned when I worked in the private sector (…) not to talk about a contract as long as it is still being negotiated, not before it is signed, because if we come up and make public statements it might affect us with the negotiation, that is, in what I defined earlier as Romania’s essential interest. But I can guarantee you that at this moment we have many partners with whom we are discussing the possibility of making in Romania the equipment that the Ministry of National Defence, the Romanian armed forces, other law enforcement ministries need,” Oprea told a Government Question Time hosted by the Senate.
He gave assurances that a series of announcements in this regard will be made in May.
„And I hope that (…) in May we can make some announcements, because it is a time when, together with international partners, we decided that we can announce the projects we are working on and the progress we are making together. So, from this perspective, there is work being done – and intense work at that – in the defence industry of Romania, in the ministry, in Romarm and together with the private industry.”
Regarding the Romanian drone project, the minister said that it is a project in which he believes, and he discusses it with the minister of defence and the research minister for the project to become reality.
„About the Romanian drone, yes, it is a project I believe in, it is a project in which we have identified many Romanian companies that already have highly performing products and we will succeed together with the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Research, Innovation to bring this project of the Romanian drone much closer. There are things I discuss with my colleagues, both with Mr Tilvar and with Mr Ivan, to see how we can make this project a reality in Romania.”
AGERPRES