Speaking in Budapest on 26 October, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó said that the Hungarian Defence Forces are doing their best to guarantee the security of the country; accordingly, soldiers continue to be the first and most important to defence leaders, and their high esteem has strengthened the retention capability of the armed forces.
In accordance with statutory requirements in force, the minister reported to the Committee on National Security on the activities of the Ministry of Defence in the last one year, and also mentioned a number of strategy-related plans for the future.
In his extraordinary report, the Minister informed the Committee in detail about the many-sided task system of the Hungarian Defence Forces, in particular the series of complex professional activities in border security operations, and pointed out the areas of their engagement both in Hungary and abroad. He stated that “Hungary is one of the safest countries in Europe these days, which can partly be credited to the work of Hungarian soldiers as well.”
“In conjunction and close cooperation with the police, our soldiers have protected and are currently protecting the borders of the country, with substantial forces involved, in order to guarantee the security of Hungarian people. Through hard work and dedication, they have earned respect and esteem from Hungarian citizens and therefore from the whole country. In parallel with that, we have also increased the troop levels in our contingents in Iraq and the Balkans in the framework of Hungary’s roles in foreign missions. At present, close to 1000 troops of the Hungarian Defence Forces are serving far from their homeland in the interest of guaranteeing security”, the Minister said.
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Dr. István Simicskó explained that in line with Hungary’s commitments in NATO, the government has made a decision to enable defence spending to reach 0.2 per cent of the GDP by 2024. The Minister also briefed the committee members about the ongoing and scheduled development projects and modernization plans in the framework of the Zrínyi 2026 National Defence and Armed Forces Development Program. He revealed that a working group has been set up to implement the program, and the MoD leaders have made a number of corresponding organizational changes. This year the Ministry of Defence achieved several significant results in connection with the program.
The professional work has started, as shown by the results. It has already facilitated noticeable progress in several regards, which will soon become tangible in other areas too, since the airlift capability of the Hungarian Defence Forces will be renewed in 2018, the current helicopter fleet will be expanded, the personnel’s pay will continue to rise, and soldiers will receive new battle dress uniforms until next spring. While giving a conspicuous presentation on the effectiveness of recruitment work, the Minister spoke about the renewal of the System of Volunteer Reserve on a territorial basis, the recently established Defence Sports Alliance and the tasks of the Defence Sports Centres as elements in the opening towards society, the cadet system in connection with military education, and finally about the already completed and planned tasks of restoring WWI war graves. In what followed, the minister answered some questions.
According to schedule, in early December this year Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó will report on the tasks and results of the Ministry to the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement of the National Assembly as well.
(Ministry of Defence)
