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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Bulgaria is interested in joint unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) production with Israel, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Wednesday.

“We will discuss whether we can make joint production in the area of defense, especially when it comes to that extremely modern and powerful weapon, drones,” Borissov told reporters before meeting his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Israel rivals the United States as a top UAV exporter and has cooperated with Russia and India on drone technologies.

UAVs accounted for 2 percent of Israel’s defense sales in 2017, according to government data released last month. Total defense sales in 2017 were valued at $9.2 billion.