Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and Turkey's Baykar Technologies, the leading company in producing military drones, has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the construction of a drone training centre.
On behalf of the Ukrainian side, the document was signed by Defence Minister Andriy Taran, and on the Turkish side by Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar in the presence of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the presidential press service reported.
The document provides for the construction and technical provision of a joint training and testing centre for maintenance, repair, modernization of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and training of personnel related to the use of Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles.
"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. This is an important event for us," Zelensky said after signing the Memorandum.
The President expressed personal gratitude and gratitude on behalf of the Ukrainian people to President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for supporting the implementation of this project.
"It's a big real step forward. I am grateful to President Erdoğan. This is a genuine support for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," the Ukrainian President said.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the next step will be the establishment of Ukrainian-Turkish production of UAVs. Baykar plans to invest in the construction of a drone plant in Ukraine that allows Ukrainian professionals to work. The Ministry also foresees that the project will establish new functions and provide revenue to the state budget.
