Ludovic Orban: Government would like to develop national defence industry

The government would like to develop the national defence industry, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday, adding that the association for the production of the Piranha 5 armoured personnel carrier is an example of good practice. Prime Minister Orban participated in the inauguration of the production and maintenance capacity for the Piranha 5 8x8 armoured vehicle personnel carrier, together with the Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, Virgil-Daniel Popescu, and with the Minister of National Defence, Nicolae Ciuca. "Today, at the Bucharest Mechanical Plant we are inaugurating the production and maintenance capacity for the Piranha 5 armoured personnel carrier, in other words we are inaugurating an investment in both the Romanian economy and the security of Romania. Here will be manufactured, assembled and maintained these carriers that represent the culmination of a successful partnership between reputed companies in the international defence industry in the USA, Switzerland and Israel. The association between General Dynamics and the Bucharest Mechanical Plant is an example of good practice in the Romanian Army endowment procedure, 80 percent of the amount spent on the purchase of Piranha 5 armoured personnel carrier returns to the Romanian economy (...). The Piranha 5 armoured personnel carrier is a state-of-the-art military product, and the Romanian military deserves the best," said Orban. According to him, the Government guarantees the accomplishment of the Army endowment plan. "For our Government, deepening the Strategic Partnership with the United States of America, as a pillar of foreign and defence policy, together with membership of the European Union and NATO, is a priority and a red thread. In this context, we guarantee the continuation of the allocation for Defence from the GDP in accordance with the commitments undertaken by Romania, to ensure the coherence of the acquisition of some deterrent and defense capacities, as well as the realization of the endowment plan of the Romanian Army under the conditions of quality assurance, compatibility and interoperability with the other NATO and EU member states. All represent measures from which we will not deviate and we will follow with maximum responsibility and meticulousness," said Orban.AGERPRES(RO - author: Gheorghe Pietrar, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)