French ForMin Le Drian: Corvette talks move forward; hopefully an agreement is soon reached

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday that talks between French ship builder Naval Group and the Constanta Shipyard, two industrial partners, were advancing on the construction of corvettes, adding that hopefully an agreement would be reached as soon as possible, Agerpres reports.

"As far as the corvettes are concerned, this is a discussion between two industrial partners. I am happy that these talks are taking place. I hope that all these talks will succeed as soon as possible and that the two companies involved will make the necessary efforts to conclude this agreement as soon as possible, which will greatly strengthen the bilateral relationship between Romania and France and will also contribute to good coordination of our navies in the Black Sea," Le Drian told a joint news conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu in Bucharest.

At the end of January, Florence Parly, the French defence minister, paid a visit to Romania. She pointed out that France supports the Romanian Army and its modernisation, mentioning the corvette file to the end.

Romanian Defence Minister Vasile Dancu spoke at that time about army acquisition projects, mentioning that he hopes a quick solution would be worked out for the corvette acquisition project.