Ukraine and Slovenia are currently working on preparing a Drone Deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky has reported following a meeting with Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tone Kajzer and Minister of Defense Valentin Hajdinjak, who are visiting Kyiv.
"Today in Kyiv, a government delegation from Slovenia together with representatives of leading companies. Met with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tone Kajzer together with Minister of Defense Valentin Hajdinjak. Our countries are working on preparing a Drone Deal, and we discussed the initial results and joint defense projects that we can implement," Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to him, during the meeting they discussed at length Ukraine's future in a united Europe, regional security, and constant Russian attacks.
"I thanked for Slovenia's contribution to PURL of $50 million and all support. And we are very grateful for such respect for all our people and for our soldiers who gave their lives defending Ukraine and all of Europe. Today we together honored their memory with a minute of silence," Zelensky wrote.
The Drone Deal is a multi-year international cooperation program initiated by Ukraine, aimed at comprehensive interaction in the security and defense sphere. It unites Ukrainian combat expertise, supply chains, and defense-industrial cooperation.
The Drone Deal can include a range of projects depending on specific partner requests, such as air defense development, scaling of drone technologies, training programs, and defense-industrial production. The entire system is built on Ukrainian combat experience.
The 10-year format of agreements allows for building a more flexible yet stable partnership. These arrangements are designed for a long-term period and create the basis for stable financing of cooperation.
The program is aimed at large-scale export of Ukrainian defense technologies, attracting foreign investment, and joint production of unmanned and anti-drone systems tested in real combat conditions. The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) serves as the coordinator of this program.
Prior to the full-scale war, Ukraine prohibited the export of its own weapons, but the Drone Deal format officially opened this possibility during martial law. The main idea is that Ukraine offers Western partners and other states its unique combat experience and technologies, receiving in exchange financing and access to foreign production capacities. Each agreement is adapted to the specific needs of the partner country.
