The Netherlands and Ukraine have signed an agreement to work together on the production of drones and potentially other military equipment.

The deal was signed on Thursday while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was in the Netherlands to receive one of the International Four Freedoms Awards from the Roosevelt Foundation in Middelburg.

Details of the deal are still being worked out, but it is clear that the VDL plant in Born, Limburg, will build both attack and surveillance drones together with Ukrainian company Greentech Harvest, the Financieele Dagblad reported.

On Wednesday, defence minister Dilan Yesilgöz announced a €248 million package for the production of drones for Ukraine.

“Drones play a crucial role in modern warfare,” she said. The Netherlands, she said, can learn a lot from the way Ukraine has been using drones in the war with Russia.

“This also offers opportunities for our industry,” she said. “The close relationship with Ukraine is creating a direct win win situation for both countries.”

The government confirmed a year ago that the former Nedcar factory in Born, is to focus on producing defence ministry equipment including, potentially, several drone makers.

The defence ministry announced last month that it would add specialised drone operators and counter-drone units to its combat brigades from April, and defence chief Onno Eichelsheim said at the time the country is the first to take such a step.

Eichelsheim told a television current affairs show that the creation of these forces is a response to lessons learned from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.