All news

Russia’s state arms seller continues honoring foreign contracts despite pandemic

Along with other measures, the company has started to hold online presentations of products and solutions

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) continues promoting Russian military, dual-purpose and civilian output and honoring its commitments to foreign customers amid restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic, the company’s press office reported on Thursday.

"COVID-19 has not stopped Rosoboronexport’s work in the sphere of military and technical cooperation with foreign states. Today we are responding maximally promptly to new unique realities of the global economy, adjusting the forms and methods of work and developing trends in accordance with them," Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev said.

Rosoboronexport has set up an emergency operations center, which is coordinating work with Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, the Industry and Trade Ministry, Rostec and enterprises manufacturing products for their promotion on foreign markets, and also with regional authorities, the press office said.

"The company has a sufficient safety margin to ensure that the global pandemic that has emerged for the first time in modern history and the associated restrictions exert no critical influence on the ties and relations developed with more than 100 countries of the world," the chief executive stressed.

Along with other measures, the company has started to hold online presentations of products and solutions, and also video conferences with partners, during which Rosoboronexport has received a large amount of requests for the delivery of mobile infectious disease hospitals. Also, Russia continues training foreign specialists who have arrived in the country before the pandemic to learn to operate some military hardware models while complying with all epidemiological requirements, the statement says.

At a meeting of the government’s commission for military and technical cooperation with foreign customers, Russian defense industry enterprises confirmed their readiness to continue implementing Rosoboronexport’s contracts with foreign partners amid the pandemic.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, over 2,000,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 134,000 deaths have been reported.

A total of 27,938 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 2,304 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 232 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.