Kiev - Libyan President Moamer Gaddafi agreed to distribute Ukrainian military cargo aircraft to African customers and to discuss other military hardware purchases, Ukraine's prime minister said Thursday in Kiev. Yulia Tymoshenko, returning from two days of meetings in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, made the announcement at a cabinet meeting aired by the UT-1 television channel.
Besides participating in talks with Gaddafi, Tymoshenko was among foreign dignitaries at Libyan celebrations Wednesday marking the desert nation's independence.
Ukraine's state-owned Antonov aerospace company will, as a result of the Tymoshenko-Gaddafi talks, market new-generation cargo aircraft on the African continent through a Libyan distributor, Tymoshenko said.
Soviet-era aircraft manufactured by Antonov, particularly the An- 12 and An-26, are popular with African customers because of the planes' ruggedness and suitability for both civilian and military flights.
Antonov is keen to find customers for a modernized turboprop military cargo aircraft, particularly the An-140, which is in production, and the An-74, which is under development. Libya's national airline currently operates the twin-engine An-140.
A Ukrainian delegation from Antonov will meet with Libyan government officials in early September to set up a framework for the trade agreement, the first goal of which will be the opening of an Antonov aircraft distribution centre in Tripoli, Tymoshenko said.
The discussions will cover not just delivery and distribution of Antonov aircraft but "an entire range of possible military-technical cooperation," Tymoshenko said.
Antonov's An-140 is in operation in Ukraine, Libya, Azerbaijan, and Iran. In Iran, the aircraft is assembled in a factory near Tabriz.
Antonov's An-74 is in the flying prototype stage. Though in development since the early 1990s, the plane has found orders only from the Ukrainian air force.
