He made the statement during a visit to arms maker PZL Mielec in the southeast of the country on Monday, state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish prime minister said that PZL Mielec “makes parts for one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, the F-16, which are exported to many countries in the world.”
Morawiecki said this showed PZL Mielec’s “great potential,” adding that the company was in talks with the government on plans to produce US-designed Black Hawk utility military helicopters.
He stated: “The Polish arms industry is capable of producing highly advanced, world-renowned weaponry, including the Black Hawk helicopters.”
He added that his government had doubled defence spending from 1.95 percent to 4 percent of GDP and was placing huge orders with domestic arms makers amid Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine.
The prime minister argued that this was possible thanks to improving value added tax collection.
He told reporters that, under the previous government of the centrist Civic Platform (PO) and the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL), the shortage of VAT-related revenue in the state budget totalled PLN 262 billion (EUR 56.7 billion).
Morawiecki said this was “a gigantic loss.” He added: “We recovered this money and we are investing it in Polish-made armaments.”
He declared that his ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party would “continue this policy if such is the decision of the voters,” referring to parliamentary elections scheduled for October 15, the PAP news agency reported.
In August, Poland's lawmakers approved a government plan to combine the parliamentary elections with a nationwide referendum on issues including illegal migration.
Voters will head to the ballot box on October 15 to elect 460 new MPs and 100 senators for a four-year term.
The conservative Law and Justice party and its government coalition allies have maintained a clear lead over the opposition in most recent surveys, polling ahead of the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), the far-right Confederation group, and the Third Way coalition of the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL) and the centre-right Poland 2050 grouping.
The ruling conservatives in 2019 won a convincing victory over opposition parties at the ballot box, securing a second term in power.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP