The Kosovo government signed an agreement earlier this week with Turkey’s state-owned defense industry producer, Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), for the functionalization of a munitions factory in Kosovo, which will produce different calibers ammunition in accordance with NATO standards.

“In addition to production machines, the contract signed today also provides for personnel training, maintenance for a certain period and equipping with quality testing and calibration systems,” the office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in a statement. .

“After functionalization, the factory will operate as a public company and as a 100% local brand of the Republic of Kosovo,” the statement added.

The agreement was signed by Kurti and MKE General Director Ilhami Keleş.

“We conducted exercises with the Turkish army, we purchased equipment, ammunition and weapons produced by Turkey, and now it is time for us to produce together in our country,” Kurti said during the meeting with the MKE delegation. took place shortly before the agreement signing ceremony.

In a separate statement on his official social media account on X, Kurti called the deal “crucial” for his country’s defense.

“Our new partnership with Turkish company MKE, the country’s leading defense company, will enable Kosovo to operationalize our military munitions factory, which will produce according to NATO standards. The agreement also includes provisions for training personnel and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies.” he said.

Earlier in November, Reuters reported Kosovo’s plan to build its first state-owned munitions factory and drone design laboratory to support the country’s defense industry, citing Kurti in a session of the Cabinet.

He had then revealed his intention to form an inter-ministerial commission to oversee the development of the facility and laboratory and stressed the need for a self-sustaining defense industry to support a surge in arms and arms for the military due of the increasing growth of weapons. tensions with Serbia.

Kurti has repeatedly said his country must be ready to face any threat from neighboring Serbia, which still considers Kosovo part of its territory.

NATO still has a force of more than 4,000 peacekeepers, mainly in the northern part of Kosovo, where the country has in the last two years experienced its worst ethnic tensions since its declaration of independence from the Serbia in 2008.

Kosovo has a light armed force but since Kurti came to power in 2021 he has increased the defense budget and in July 2023 Kosovo purchased a batch of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones.

Earlier this year, the US State Department approved the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kosovo for an estimated $75 million.

The Sabah Daily News Bulletin

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