Moscow. February 20. INTERFAX-Russia has signed a contract for the implementation of the first stage of the creation of a joint production of Kalashnikov assault rifles (AK) with Saudi Arabia, the document is undergoing interstate approval procedures, said Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov in an interview published on Saturday in the newspaper "Kommersant".
"With regard to the contract for the first phase of creating a joint production of Kalashnikov assault rifles, it is signed by the parties and is inter-state coordination procedure, after which will come into force," - said Manturov on the eve of his working visit to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), where on Sunday will open the international conference and exhibition of arms and military equipment IDEX 2021.
As previously reported by Interfax, there is a request for joint production of AK in the states of Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, this was stated in February 2019 by the General Director of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev.