On Friday, 16 June in Hódmezővásárhely, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó received his Austrian counterpart, Austrian Minister of Defence and Sports Hans Peter Doskozil.
The first venue of the visit to Hungary was the Hódmezővásárhely barracks, where Dr. István Simicskó received his Austrian counterpart with military honors.
Beyond the development of bilateral relations, the aim of today’s visit to Hungary is that Minister Doskozil can meet the soldiers serving with the current rotation of the Austrian contingent working along the southern border of Hungary and learn about their job, their working conditions and supply. This is the first time that the Austrian minister is visiting the Austrian contingent that started operating in Hungary in November 2016.
In his speech delivered in Hódmezővásárhely, Dr. István Simicskó emphasized that Austria is an important European partner of Hungary with shared European values and centuries-old historical past. The migration crisis presents a major challenge to Austria and Hungary, which makes it important to further develop cooperation so that we can take joint action against illegal migration and its impacts, and protect the European and Schengen borders. Both sides agreed that security must be guaranteed and that the threat posed by new types of security challenges must be countered at all costs.
At their meeting in Hódmezővásárhely, the two ministers discussed, among other things, the possibilities for the further development of bilateral relations, several issues in the Central European Defence Cooperation, and the current status of their countries’ joint role in foreign missions.
The next two venues of today’s meeting will be Ásotthalom and Bácsalmás.
(Ministry of Defence)
