"Part of aid can be used to manufacture drones in Lithuania and supply them to Ukraine," - Nausėda
The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, has proposed that part of the annual aid allocated to Ukraine be used to manufacture drones in Lithuania. The proposal involves the production of drones at Lithuanian factories, utilising Ukrainian technological expertise, which would then be transferred to Ukraine.
This is reported by Delfi, as relayed by Censor.NET.
What is this about?
According to Nausėda, such a model would, at the same time, contribute to the development of Lithuania’s defence industry, the creation of jobs and a reduction in the cost of the drones produced.
"We do indeed provide Ukraine with substantial aid – more than 0.25 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually, which amounts to over 230 million euros. We could use a significant portion of this sum to produce drones for Ukraine’s needs," Nauseda told journalists on Wednesday following a meeting of the State Defence Council.
"To produce them here in Lithuania, together with the Ukrainians, using their know-how, and to provide them with this as aid. This means jobs, technical expertise and the development of industry here," he explained.
He added that such a model would make it possible to increase drone production in Lithuania and boost the competitiveness of the country’s defence industry.
"This would increase production volumes, enhance economies of scale, reduce production costs and make us more competitive in this market," said the head of state.
Cooperation in the field of drone manufacturing
Naudėsa also criticised the excessively slow pace of cooperation between Lithuania and Ukraine in the field of drone production. According to him, two agreements on this matter have already been signed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, yet actual production in Lithuania has not yet commenced on the necessary scale.
"We have, in fact, already signed two agreements with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and today, unfortunately, I am still forced to note that drone production in Lithuania is not gaining momentum," said Nausėda.
He noted that he had previously regarded the delays in the licensing procedures on the Ukrainian side as the main obstacle, but now sees problems on the Lithuanian side as well.
According to Nausėda’s assessment, for the cooperation to really gain momentum, Lithuania should anticipate a fairly large volume of orders.
