Denys Shmyhal discussed with Portugal’s Minister of National Defence, Nuno Melo, the needs of the Ukrainian army and the strengthening of our country’s air defense.
According to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Minister of Defence posted this on Facebook.
The interlocutors coordinated the main issues of defense cooperation between the two countries and the priority needs of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Shmyhal thanked Portugal for its active participation in the Ramstein-format meetings of the Contact Group and for its contribution to the International Fund for Weapons Procurement for Ukraine (IFU) in the amount of $12 million.
“We discussed Portugal’s participation in the initiative to procure American weapons for Ukraine (PURL), in particular thanking for the already announced contribution of $50 million and for the further expansion of Portugal’s participation, as well as the possibility of implementing joint projects within the SAFE program”, – wrote Shmyhal.
– Denys Shmyhal
Prospects for Cooperation and Development Directions
According to him, Portugal’s participation in PURL will open up additional opportunities for cooperation between the defense-industrial sectors of the two countries.
The talks also touched on strengthening Ukraine’s air defense.
Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine is also interested in expanding cooperation in the areas of unmanned systems, tactical communications, cyber defense, and maritime technologies.
The defense minister expressed gratitude to Portugal for its unwavering support of Ukraine.
As Ukrinform reported, Denys Shmyhal and Juozas Olekas, the Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, discussed exchanging experience and technologies in the defense industry and the potential for developing joint projects.