Poland launches program to help arm CEE countries

Poland has launched the Regional Security Assistance Program aimed to help Eastern European armament efforts by providing government, bank and export loans to purchase equipment, and through non-commercial transfers of weapons, defensenews.com web portal informed. Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said that by 2022 Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic republics will benefit from the program and will see a boost in defense and industrial cooperation. According to defensenews.com, Slovakia could be the first country to take advantage of the program since it is about to purchase 30 eight-wheel-drive Rosomak armored modular vehicles from Polish state-run manufacturer Rosomak.