This Monday, February 28, Minister Nelson Jobim affirmed that the cut of R$ 4.1 billions in the Budget of the Defense won´t affect the international projects, like the nuclear submarine and the purchase of fighters for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).

Jobim uttered masterclass in the School of Command and General Staff of the Army (ECEME), in Rio de Janeiro.

According to him, “we must privilege the continuity of the projects that have international compromises. The national projects can wait. The Pró-Sub [of construction of submarines in partnership with France] will continue. The KC-390 [jet of transport of troops manufactured by Embraer] has to continue, because we have an important timing, which is 2018, when 1.5 thousand Hércules will leave the market”.

The Minister explained that the purchase of the fighters probably will not be affected by the resource reduction because the payment for the aircraft only would begin from 2012.

“There is no expense for fighters this year. A thing is to decide on the beginning of a negotiation, which takes at least 12 months. In other words, that all is for 2012 or 2013. Even if we decided today, it wouldn´t enter in the Budget of this year,” he justified.

The Minister of Defense has revealed that he should treat the subject with president Dilma Rousseff soon.

“We will talk to the president in next two months, once this problem of the Budget calms down. I would like that it was [decided] in this semester, because we were already preparing the all the discussions. There are highly complex contracts”.

Jobim also informed that up to March 15, there will be defined the areas of Defense that will suffer spending cuts.

Originally, the budget of the Defense was of R$ 15 billions.

“We have to cut because there is a fiscal problem, in which the ministry of Defense must participate. The military already offered the suggestions of cuts, in both the operating maintenance and the projects”, he explained.

Most of the resources of the Defense is employed in the maintenance of the personnel of the three Armed Forces, totalizing 345 thousand men.