On 21 March, Minister for Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin and Presidential Advisor on Strategic Issues Oleksandr Kamyshyn met with President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, Governmental Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Tomáš Kopečný and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ukraine Radek Pech.

The meeting took place at one of Ukraine's defence plants, which assembles BREN-2 rifles under a licence from a Czech company.

The distinguished guests were shown the process of assembling the weapon at various stages. All the employees involved in this process have previously been trained in the Czech Republic and are now implementing the knowledge and NATO technologies at the Ukrainian plant.

Mr President and his delegation were also shown the first assembled rifles and told about the capabilities of the Ukrainian defence industry to deepen cooperation with Czech partners.

The visit culminated in the signing of several important documents. They concerned, in particular, the supply of components for small arms and BREN-2.

Herman Smetanin presented the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise to Governmental Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Tomáš Kopečný, in appreciation of everything he has done for Ukraine.

"The Czech Republic is our strategic partner, and we are pleased to have strong cross-sectoral ties. We already have the first results of joint projects and are working on scaling them up. We are grateful to Czech business for its willingness to cooperate with Ukrainian defence companies. I am sincerely grateful to the President for his visit and for maintaining a high-level partnership between the defence industries of our countries. For defending our interests on the global arena. Since the first days of the invasion, the Czech Republic has stood by our side in our struggle. Thank you for your steadfastness and consistency in your support. And for continuing to build the Arsenal of the Free World with us," the Minister said.