Slovakia plans to buy 30 armored personnel carriers (APC) from Poland over the next three years in a deal worth about $32 million, Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said on Friday.

Under the agreement, Slovak firms will jointly develop the vehicles with Poland, and provide turrets for the APCs, Kopacz said at a joint news conference with Slovak counterpart Robert Fico.

The vehicles will be an updated version of the Rosomak APC, manufactured in southern Poland under a license agreement with Finnish firm Patria. Kopacz said she hoped the model could be exported globally.

A European Union embargo on arms imports from Russia has pushed Slovakia, among other EU states, to accelerate its transition from Russian-made military hardware to NATO-standard weaponry.

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