РНБОУ National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

Oleg Hladkovskiy emphasizes the effective cooperation between Ukraine and NATO in the defense-technical sphere

As part of the deepening of Ukraine-NATO practical partnership in the defense-technical sphere, on May 23, 2018, the twenty-sixth regular meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defense Technical Cooperation took place in Odesa.

First Deputy to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on the policy of military-technical cooperation and export control Oleg Hladkovskiy headed the delegation of Ukraine; the NATO delegation was led by Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment Camille Grand.

The Ukrainian delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Defense headed by Deputy Minister of Defense Lieutenant-General Ihor Pavlovsky and the defense industry led by Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Yuri Brovchenko and Director General of the SC "Ukroboronprom" Pavlo Bukin.

The parties discussed the results of the cooperation in the field of armaments during the period since the last meeting of the JWG and signed the updated Roadmap for Defense-Technical Cooperation, having agreed on the main tasks for its implementation in the second half of 2018.

Mr. Hladkovskiy highlighted the significant progress in carrying out reforms in the security and defense sector of Ukraine and in the practical implementation of the Roadmap: in particular, Ukraine fulfilled all the points of the previous document.

The Roadmap for Defense-Technical Cooperation for 2018 contains a number of new tasks for the Ukrainian side. "It is about the development of NATO-compatible national standardization and codification systems in defense, cooperation in the field of safe storage of ammunition, and the establishment of links between defense companies of NATO and Ukraine. It also provides for the establishing a system of the state guarantee of quality of defense products and participation in multinational projects of the NATO "Smart Defense" Concept, - First Deputy to the Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine noted.

The parties also discussed the prospects of defense-technical cooperation, the reform of the domestic defense industrial complex and the further development of public-private partnership, the state of interaction in the implementation of NATO Trust Funds in terms of achieving compatibility with the Alliance in the defense-technical sphere, improving the training system for specialists in defense-technical cooperation for the security and defense sector structures, etc.

"We have made significant progress in bringing our standards into line with NATO standards in the defense-technical sphere. In particular, only in 2017, 41 standards were adopted; in 2018, it is planned to adopt the remaining 26 relevant Alliance norms. An automated information system for the codification of supplies has also been put into operation, - Mr. Hladkovskiy said. - Therefore, we are extremely grateful to our partners for helping reform our defense sector, and we hope that cooperation will be strengthened and expanded. After all, Ukraine's strong and powerful army is, first of all, the return of Ukrainian territories, as well as a guarantee of peace on the borders of the Eastern European countries-members of NATO".

The parties also paid considerable attention to the issues of defense-technical cooperation, in particular, in the field of procurement of arms for imports, expansion of cooperation within the framework of the NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors, and the implementation of the NATO Trust Funds formed in support of Ukraine.

"We understand that, first of all, we need to achieve compatibility with the Alliance in the defense-technical sphere, and this sector must fully comply with NATO standards. After all, we are interested in a full-fledged partnership and Ukraine's gaining full membership in the Alliance in prospect", - Mr. Hladkovskiy explained.

The parties also discussed the reform of the defense-industrial complex of Ukraine, the SC "Ukroboronprom" and the development of the public-private partnership.

"We can confidently speak about the growth of the role of private enterprises in Ukraine's defense sector, and this is an extremely positive step. In particular, Ukrainian companies - arms manufacturers and technicians will soon get the right to independently import components for their production and export their manufactured products. This, in turn, will expand the prospect of cooperation without restrictions of Ukrainian enterprises with enterprises of NATO countries in the defense-technical sphere", - Oleg Hladkovskiy said O.

Moreover, the NATO delegation visited the State Enterprise "Odesa Aviation Plant" and the private enterprise "Telecard-Device". The top management of the enterprises presented the achievements in the production of equipment according to NATO standards (developments in the field of aircraft engineering, automated troops control systems, telecommunication facilities), as well as possible promising projects of cooperation with the companies of the NATO and EU countries.