More than 200 defense companies took part in the Defense Industries Forum, which was held for the first time in Kyiv on Friday, September 29, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

"And to be honest, we expected around 200 companies. The fact that we exceeded the target of 200 companies suggests that we literally got into the 'nerve' of world security policy in the field of weapons production," Kuleba said at panel discussion at the International Defense Industries Forum.

The minister noted that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begin every international conversation with a point about weapons.

"Weapons. This is very unusual for classical diplomacy, but very normal for wartime diplomacy. And if at first these conversations began simply about Ukraine receiving weapons, then somewhere, perhaps from the end of summer - autumn of last year, we began to talk seriously about joint production, about repairs," Kuleba noted.

According to him, first they talked about repairs on the territory of Ukraine, and then about joint production.

"And now this topic is present everywhere. And I want everyone, every company that is present here, to know that when Ukraine talks to partners, we always urge them to create conditions for you to work with Ukraine, to finance the purchase of weapons, equipment for their armies, so that they can also supply us from their warehouses, but also strengthen their armed forces. This topic is constantly present," the head of the department noted.

As Kuleba emphasized, in conversations with partners he hears "insane interest in the experience and production capabilities of Ukrainian business."

"Here we are a true partner. Ukraine is not only a consumer. Ukraine is a full-fledged partner, and just as we receive advantages from Western weapons, Western weapons manufacturers also receive unique advantages in the market to improve their models and create even more powerful weapons," the minister added.

So, in his opinion, as a result of the war, after victory, two things will happen: the Ukrainian defense industry will be fully integrated into NATO, like Ukraine itself; and weapons produced by Ukrainian and foreign companies will be the most competitive in the world.