On August 15, 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov and Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin held a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the large Defense Industries Forum, which will be held in the fall.

The ministers discussed the main parameters of the event, which will bring together in Ukraine leading Ukrainian and foreign companies in the field of defense industries, as well as representatives of governments in order to establish large-scale joint work.

The purpose of the forum is to unite Ukrainian and foreign manufacturers for the sake of long-term and systematic strengthening of the defense capability of our country, exchange of technologies, establishment of joint production, systematic maintenance and repair of equipment, strengthening of the defense potential of both Ukraine and partners based on NATO-type technologies and weapons.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Strategic Industries are working together to develop Ukraine's defense self-sufficiency. This goal requires not only the supply, but also the creation, development and production of modern weapons - right here, in Ukraine. It is also about the repair, replenishment, and modernization of Western weapons.

Ukraine has unique expertise and technologies but needs the experience and resources of partners for their scaling and development. The First Forum of Defense Industries will be a platform where the world's largest arms manufacturers, together with the military and political leadership of Ukraine and partner countries, will work together to develop new alliances and strategies to support international security, and launch joint projects.

Following the results of the meeting, the ministers signed a joint letter to partner countries and foreign defense companies inviting them to participate in the forum and defined a joint action plan for organizing the event.