The European Commission, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, and the governments of France and Finland have signed agreements aimed at expanding industrial capabilities in the field of dual-use technologies and the defense industry, according to the Ministry of Defense.
The agreements provide for EUR 343 million in the form of European Union guarantees and blended finance grants. The agreements were signed during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, according to a statement on the Ministry of Defense’s official website.
The new instruments are expected to attract more than EUR 700 million in investments in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-drone systems, ground-based robotic systems, the aviation industry, advanced navigation and communication technologies, as well as other strategic sectors.
Importantly, the investments cover not just individual products, but the entire technological ecosystem of modern defense. The new agreements open up opportunities to scale up Ukrainian defense production technologies, the Defense Ministry said.
Agreements with France and Finland will contribute to the development of Ukrainian defense technologies.
Funding will be provided under the second component of the Ukraine Facility program. This component includes the Investment Framework Program for Ukraine, created to attract public and private investment. Its budget totals EUR 9.5 billion, including EUR 7.8 billion in guarantees and EUR 1.7 billion in blended finance grants.
Earlier, it was reported that the European Commission and the Ministry of Defense had launched cooperation in the field of investing in innovative and breakthrough technologies. The agreement provides for the launch of a comprehensive financial program totalling EUR 161 million.
