“Hungary and the region needs a strong and effective Hungarian Defence Force”, Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő said at his annual evaluation and task-setting meeting on Tuesday in Budapest.

“It is vital to the Hungarians and others living in the region that they are able to live in peace and security, and this must also be assured for future generations”, Mr. Benkő said.

“In May 2018, when the new Cabinet was formed, one of the most significant government targets was that we want a modern and effective army that is committed to its homeland. And which can compete with the armed forces of any other nation. We must become the region’s determining armed force”, the Minister said.

“The Military Development Programme that is already underway is the most comprehensive and complex defence development project of the past fifty years, within the framework of which all branches of the armed forces will be modernised. This has the Government’s moral and material support”, he added.

“This year’s meeting is unique for several reasons, for instance because the Commander in Chief of the Hungarian Defence Force (formerly Chief of Staff) will not be holding his task-setting meeting now, but at the end of the month in Székesfehérvár”, the Minister explained.

The targets set for 2018 were supplemented following the formation of the new government last May. As an example, he mentioned the establishment of a separate Hungarian Defence Force Command and the reforming of the structure of the integrated Ministry of Defence and the separation of political and military leadership and management.

In addition, Parliament amended several pieces of legislation, fir instance introducing the defence emergency category, increasing the age for military service to 50, and establishing the defence employee staff category. With relation to the latter, the Minister said after being recategorized, the former public employees also received a 30 percent pay rise.

“A modern army doesn’t only depend on military technical equipment, but also on the training of personnel, and for this reason it was set down, for instance, that the promotion system must become more flexible”, the Minister highlighted.

Mr. Benkó also spoke about the career model introduced in 2015 and the ongoing increase in pay, explaining that when the economy is developing and the number of people in employment is increasing, it becomes more and more difficult to find soldiers.

“For this reason, a more modern pay system is required, and according to plans the discussion on this subject will begin before the end of this month”, he stated.

“Beginning in March-April, Defence Force housing will begin to be sold to soldiers”, Mr. Benkő announced.

He also highlighted the importance of modern training and education, and of improving military education.

From among the results achieved within the field of attracting young people, he mentioned the popularity of military summer camps and the Defence Force Cadet Programme.

With relation to the voluntary reserve system, he said that more and more young people are applying for duty, adding that two reginal defence regiments have been formed.

The number of reservists increased by several thousand between 2012 and 2018, and now exceeds 8 thousand. The number of soldiers in the Hungarian Defence Force increased by some 15 percent between 2010 and 2018, the Minister stated.

Mr. Benkő highlighted the fact that military development requires the backing of the budget, pointing out that in 2015 he Government undertook to increase defence spending by 0.1 percent of GDP every year, thanks to which it increased to 1.41 percent by 2018.

On the subject of the modernisation of military equipment, he said the Ministry will be procuring equipment that suits the needs of soldiers and the country’s economic interests, explaining that the assembling of small arms in Hungary had begun, and they will be supplying not just soldiers, but all armed bodies with small arms.

Mr. Benkő also spoke about the development of air defence, reporting on the applicability and intended use of the equipment procured.

The Minister expressed his appreciation of the employees at the Defence Force Hospital for withstanding attacks, amongst others from opposition party MPs who appear at the Hospital’s clinics demanding VIP cards.

The task-setting meeting which was held in Budapest’s Castle District in the Ministry of Defence’s Institute and Museum of Military History, was also attended by Commander of the Hungarian Defence Force Ferenc Korom, representatives of the Defence Force’s various corps, and, amongst others, the Ministry’s Parliamentary State Secretary Szilárd Németh, Minister of State for Defence István Szabó, and Director General of the Military National Security Service György Bakondi, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister.

(MTI)