AZERBAIJAN STARTS MAKING ADVANCED MILITARY PRODUCTS – OFFICIAL
Interfax
March 18 2009
Russia
Azerbaijan managed to launch the manufacturing of state-of-the-art
military-purpose products in a short period of time, and it now plans
to begin selling such goods to other countries, Fuad Akhundov, director
of the presidential administration’s public and political department,
told Interfax-AVN.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev recently visited several enterprises in
the country’s defense sector.
"The military products demonstrated to the head of state during the
visit confirm that Azerbaijan’s defense sector has learnt how to
make advanced military-purpose products in line with international
standards since the establishment of the Defense Sector Ministry in
2005," Akhundov said.
The rapid pace of the defense sector’s development is among the highest
priorities of the government’s economic and investment programs,
as well as the country’s national security strategy, the official said.
Measures to bolster the potential of Azerbaijan’s defense sector
companies will help find a solution to the conflict over Nagorno-
Karabakh, he said.
On Monday, President Aliyev attended a series of ribbon-cutting
ceremonies for the country’s recently rebuilt defense sector
enterprises, including the Radiostroyeniye plant owned by the Pribor
production company, a research center and a computer making plant. The
three enterprises report to the Defense Sector Ministry.
Under the government’s program, Azerbaijan’s security services received
213 types of defense-purpose products and spare parts for them in 2007,
and 300 in 2008. Enterprises of the country’s defense sector began
manufacturing small amounts of basic weapons, close combat weapons,
artillery arms, engineering equipment, combat and training ammunition,
and reconnaissance devices.
The amount of defense-purpose products handed over to customers in
2008 increased by six-fold from 2005. In 2009, the Azeri defense
sector plans to manufacture 435 kinds of defense-purpose products and
spare parts for them, including efforts to assemble advanced armored
personnel carriers, various sorts of anti-tank mines, optical sights
and training aerial bombs.