Slovakia intends to produce weapons and ammunition in Uzbekistan

Slovakia intends to establish cooperation with Uzbekistan in the production of weapons and ammunition. This was announced following the results of the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced talks with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, reports gazeta.uz .

According to him, Uzbekistan is of great interest to Slovak companies, especially in the defense industry.

The Prime Minister noted that a significant part of the conversation with Mirziyoyev was devoted to the military-industrial complex.

"We both agree that if defense spending increases, it should not be at the expense of other sectors and accompanied by the purchase of weapons only in the United States or Israel. Our duty is to produce as much as possible at home," Fico further said.

He added that the Slovak side presented to the President and Prime Minister of Uzbekistan the segments of its own defense production, which, according to him, "is becoming more and more successful."

Fico said that in 2024 the Slovak defense industry contributed more than 1.1 billion euros to GDP, and in 2025 it is expected that it will be already 1.5 billion euros.

"If we had managed to implement joint projects, such as the ammunition assembly lines that we talked about with the president, or the modernization of T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, the volumes could have been even higher. We would invest in our own production and joint ventures," the Slovak Prime Minister continued.

Uzbekistan, he stressed, has significant military potential, including Soviet and Russian-made equipment.

"And given that Uzbekistan has a really large army, mostly equipped with weapons of Russian or Soviet origin, the opportunities for Slovak companies here are enormous — even more than we could have imagined," the head of the Slovak government said.

In 2024, Slovakia doubled its arms and ammunition exports to more than 1.2 billion euros. This made it one of the largest arms exporters in Europe in terms of a share of gross domestic product.

According to Marek Gabris, Chief economist of CSOB Bank, the country reached a record level of arms exports last year. According to Bloomberg, in Slovakia's economy, which is 130 billion euros with a population of 5.5 million inhabitants, exports of weapons and ammunition account for 0.9% of GDP.