President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is building partnerships with countries regarding the export of Ukrainian weapons for the next 10 years. This will allow filling the state budget.
He said this at a meeting with journalists.
“Why are we now building partnerships with countries for the next 10 years? Because during these 10 years, Ukraine will earn money from this, the budget will be filled. And if, God forbid, there is a war, you know who to call. Because a government-to-government agreement has been signed, there is an agreement. All weapons from the factories that we built abroad must go to Ukraine. We opened them there so that everything would not be destroyed here,” Zelensky said.
He noted that he is seeking 10 contracts for 10 years.
“As of now, I want 10 contracts for at least 10 years – these are billions in the development of our defense industry. A big investment in our country. I will do it. Of course, if 50 unapproved factories open abroad in parallel, it will be difficult. But this is a dead end for those who open like this. States come to states for cooperation anyway,” the president said.
On March 27, the president visited Saudi Arabia, where Kyiv and Riyadh signed a bilateral agreement on defense cooperation. Ukraine also ratified similar agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Zelenskyy previously stated that there are 228 Ukrainian specialists in the Middle East who are assisting local air defense forces in combating Iranian strike drones.
He also reported that Ukraine has received 11 requests from Iran's neighboring countries, European states, and the United States for security support in countering Iranian “shaheeds” and other similar challenges.