June 21 (SeeNews) - Italian firearms manufacturing company Beretta has expressed interest in cooperating with Serbian state-owned sector players, Serbia's defence ministry said.
Beretta is interested in cooperating with the Serbian defence ministry and the country’s firearms producers, the owner of the Italian company, Franco Beretta, said, as quoted in a statement by the Serbian defence ministry on Wednesday.
“I would especially like to point out the potential areas of Beretta's cooperation with the Military Technical Institute of the Ministry of Defense and the companies of Serbia’s defence industry,” defence minister Aleksandar Vulin said during a meeting with representatives of the Italian company who visited the factories of Serbian companies Prvi Partizan and Zastava Arms.
In October, the defence ministry said the government plans to launch negotiations with Beretta on potential future cooperation with Zastava Arms.
During an official visit to Italy in October, Vulin said Zastava Arms represents an excellent opportunity for investments, while the arrival of Beretta to Serbia would be a positive signal for all foreign investors in the sector.
Zastava Arms produces arms for military and civil usage. The company, based in Kragujevac, in central Serbia, exports hunting and sporting weapons to over 30 countries in the world, data from the corporate website shows.