The Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, declared on Tuesday in Dambovita County, after visiting four defense industry facilities, that important steps are being taken in this field, „the defense industry is starting hard, but it is starting”.

The minister went to the Petresti Military Truck Factory, the NATO Ammunition Excellence Center within the Dragomiresti Special Products Factory, the Mija Mechanical Plant and the Moreni Automecanica.

„The defense industry is starting, hard, but it is starting, we see these steps being taken”, was the conclusion of Minister Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, at the end of the visit to Dambovita County.

He said that these enterprises must capitalize on the advantage of the geographical proximity to Ukraine.

„I want us to be, as we have been, transparent. At the moment, Automecanica Moreni is not going through the best period. It was taken over seven months ago by the new manager with some very large losses (…). I am satisfied with the progress made by the current management (…). We can be very competitive, thanks also to the infrastructure we have in terms of mechanical plants and thanks to the geographical proximity to Ukraine, the maintenance and repair area, where Moreni will have a very important place”, Minister Bogdan-Gruia Ivan said at Automecanica Moreni.

Developed after the 2000s at Automecanica Moreni, the Romanian armored amphibious transporter SAUR 2 has remained at the prototype level.

„SAUR 2, besides looking very good, has very good technical parameters and is competitive on the international market. I believe it will be a very good product for export, and besides the Romanian Army, it will be able to be competitive on the international market as well,” said Minister Bogdan-Gruia Ivan.

The official highlighted Romania’s advantages in terms of developing the defense industry and the fact that money can be accessed in this regard.

„I want Romania, which has an extremely important geostrategic position, especially in the context of the armed conflict on the border, to be the ones who represent, together with Poland, the main area of assistance and reconstruction for Ukraine, on the one hand, and on the other hand, this money that we can access from the SAFE mechanism with a 10-year grace period, with repayment in 40 years, I want it to reach the Romanian economy”, Minister Bogdan-Gruia Ivan also said.

At Automecanica Moreni, a plant established in 1968, there are now 288 employees with an average age of 54. In recent years, the plant has also switched to civilian production. The director of Automecanica Moreni, Alexandru Oprea, said that the plant is currently in negotiations with an Asian partner for the delivery of carriers.

AGERPRES