Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine and the United States have agreed to launch joint weapons production in a step that will enable Kyiv to start producing air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday as he wrapped up a visit to the U.S. "And a long-term agreement - we will work together so that Ukraine produces the necessary weapons together with the United States. Zelenskiy said the Ministry for Strategic Industries, which oversees weapons production in Ukraine, had signed cooperation agreements with three associations, uniting over 2,000 defence U.S. companies, on future possible work in Ukraine. The government is also implementing reforms at its main weapons production company - Ukroboronprom - to improve transparency, boost production capacity and enable it to cooperate more actively with Western producers.

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Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Zelenskiy, Olena Harmash, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: U.S, White, REUTERS, Rights, Ministry for Strategic Industries, Western, Thomson Locations: Washington, Ukraine, United States, Kyiv, U.S