Ukraine's arms maker Ukroboronprom opens its office in U.S

MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) - Ukraine's state-owned weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom opened its first foreign office in Washington on July 9 as Kiev seeks to bolster defense industry cooperation with the United States.

Its main objectives include working together with local businesses, expert groups, government agencies and defense organizations and securing support for Ukroboronprom projects in the U.S. and partner countries, Ukrainian media said, citing the Ministry for Strategic Industries.

"The work of the representative office is an important step to strengthen our cooperation. Currently, Ukrainian companies have a number of tentative arrangements with American colleagues. The Ukroboronprom office in the U.S. will help expedite their implementation and will bolster the Ukrainian defense industry's integration into NATO's defense industry base," Ukraine's Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin said.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry for Strategic Industries, Ukroboronprom and a number of U.S. agencies.

The Ukroboronprom office will focus on finding investment opportunities and potential military-technical partners in the U.S. Its priorities include searching for and efficiently adopting advanced military technologies, as well as ensuring interaction between Ukrainian and foreign teams to manage joint ventures, the statement said.

"We are interested in deepening cooperation with U.S. arms manufacturers to facilitate technology transfer, develop joint projects and raise investment. We have a lot to offer our overseas colleagues as Ukrainian specialists have a one-on-a-kind and successful record of producing and restoring weapons and military hardware," Ukroboronprom CEO German Smetanin said.