Several thousand Ukrainian workers will go to the Czech Republic to work in the arms industry, confirmed the Czech Defence Ministry.

The arrival of the new workers from Ukraine, together with the development of the defence industry, could bring the country financial benefits, Czech Radio reported.

“We are not talking about a refugee wave, we are talking about highly qualified workers who will earn money for companies and contribute to the Czech economy,” Czech Deputy Defence Minister Tomáš Kopečný told Czech Radio. Regarding specific qualifications, manufacturing technicians are among the most demanded workers.

According to the deputy minister, the Czech Republic wants to create joint Czech-Ukrainian clusters of industries, and the arms sector is among them.

“This is the result of the meeting between (Czech) Prime Minister Petr Fiala and (Ukrainian) President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv at the end of October. There is a clear consensus that we will build a strategic base for joint production capabilities for the defence of Ukraine, the Czech Republic and the (NATO) Alliance,” Kopečný said.

The agreement concerns mainly repair works in the first stage and modernisation of heavy combat equipment in a later phase.

“Certainly in the first half of next year, concrete production of some key weapons systems or components should begin,” said Kopečný.

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