Ukraine welcomes the opening of an office of the British giant in the field of aerospace industry and weapons BAE Systems in Kyiv, in the context of increasing its efforts to develop the industry of sophisticated weapons, reports News.ro with reference to CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn on Wednesday in Kyiv.

“You are an example for other companies that want to develop their presence in Ukraine and develop weapons production,” he told her.

“BAE Systems wants to be a reliable partner of Ukraine both in the war for freedom and independence, and in building a strong and sustainable technological defense industry to effectively prevent future attempts at aggression,” Woodburn replied.

Kyiv signed a number of agreements on cooperation in the development of armaments in Ukraine in partnership with other Ukrainian enterprises.

Oleksandr Kamyshyn, Minister of Strategic Industries, who is responsible for the construction of the defense industrial base, believes that the commitment of BAE Systems will contribute to “building the future of the Ukrainian defense industry.” Together with the company, we will be able to place the production of promising weapons.”

One of the projects is the joint production in Ukraine of the BAE Systems L119 light howitzer.

Kyiv recently announced measures to produce more of its own artillery munitions and rapidly expanded Ukraine’s drone industry.

BAE Systems – Europe’s largest defense company by revenue – has signed record orders worth 37 billion pounds (43.2 billion euros) in 2022, most of which are in programs that preceded the war in Ukraine, writes News.ro.