Zelensky urges Western allies to allot 0.25% GDP for Ukraine's defense industry
He announced plans to sign agreements for exporting technologies and emphasized the need for improved weaponry amidst escalating conflict with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukraine's Western partners to allocate 0.25% of their GDP towards helping Kyiv ramp up weapons production, reported Reuters.
"Ukraine is part of Europe's security and we want 0.25% of the GDP of a particular partner country to be allocated for our defence industry and domestic production," Zelensky said.
"We have launched a program 'Build with Ukraine' and in summer we will sign relevant agreements to start exporting our technologies abroad in the format of opening production lines in European countries," Zelensky said.
This year Kyiv had secured $43 billion to finance its domestic weapon production, he added.
As Russia is bigger and more equipped than Ukraine, and the strife between the two has been escalating in the past few weeks, Zelensky's country is in immediate need of improved weaponry and better ammunition.
Kyiv plans to launch joint weapon production outside of the country and will start exporting some of its military production technologies, the President affirmed.
In the remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania to launch joint weapon production.
According to the report, Ukraine's 40% defence needs are presently covered with domestic production, and the government is on the lookout for ways to boost this production in the future.
Zelensky attended the G7 summit in Canada last week. He especially wanted to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, help impose stronger sanctions against Russia and urge increased military support for his country. This effort went in vain as Trump left the summit a day early to address the Israel-Iran conflict in Washington.
The Ukrainian President is likely to attend the upcoming NATO summit, where he will be meeting several Western leaders. He would also make a second attempt to meet Donald Trump after the G7.
With inputs from agencies
