Romania is beginning to emerge as a potential player in the defence industry of southeast Europe through its partnership with Rheinmetall AG, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated.
The Prime Minister attended on Monday the signing ceremony of the shareholders' agreement for the establishment and operation of Rheinmetall-Victoria, between Pirochim Victoria SA and Rheinmetall AG, alongside the company's CEO, Armin Papperger.
"I am honoured to conclude this contract signing, which is practically the end of one negotiation, but also the beginning of another package of important negotiations which we will carry out today. Through this partnership, Romania starts to emerge as a potential player in the defence industry of Southeast Europe. I am pleased that Rheinmetall sees us as an important and reliable partner and is strengthening its presence in Romania," PM Ilie Bolojan said within the joint press statements held alongside the Rheinmetall AG CEO.
The future ammunition powder factory in Victoria represents "an investment of half a billion euros, approximately 700 new jobs, but above all, the advantage of producing powder in Romania," the Prime Minister underscored.
Furthermore, he welcomed Rheinmetall's willingness to renegotiate the joint venture agreement with the Romanian side.
"This way, a part of the supply chain for the future factory will be local. This way, the production unit will be better integrated into the Romanian economy. I thank the company for its willingness to work with Romanian suppliers, so that the Romanian companies, which are competitive, can develop their production capacities and integrate into the European defence industry supply chain," Bolojan said.
He also thanked to all those involved in negotiations over time, mentioning Economy Minister Radu Miruta and representatives of the German Embassy in Bucharest.
"I also welcome the signing, as it represents a rapid implementation of the Romania-Germany Action Plan, signed just a few months ago and I hope it is a good start to even closer economic cooperation in the defence area with German companies," Bolojan said.
The Prime Minister underscored that, after many years in which the national defence industry had been in low demand, Romania is entering a new phase due to the security situation in Eastern Europe.
"We are very close to determining exactly which projects will be developed and financed through the European Union's SAFE programme. What we are doing today and in the coming days is concluding negotiations for accessing EU funds under SAFE programme and we expect these negotiations to be completed in the second half of this month. We will then hold a CSAT [the Supreme Council for National Defence] meeting to approve these equipment plans in the second half of November, afterwards we will present them to the European Commission," PM Bolojan added.
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