On Thursday, 25 May – as a member of the Prime Minister’s delegation and in company of the minister of foreign affairs and trade – Minister of Defence of Hungary Dr. István Simicskó attended the meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government in Brussels.

High on the agenda of the meeting were the two main topics of fairer burden-sharing in NATO and stepping up the role of the Alliance in the fight against terrorism.

Prior to the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that at the Brussels summit, NATO will reaffirm its commitment to collective security and send a strong signal of the unity of the transatlantic military alliance. 

In order to be able to effectively meet the current challenges, strengthening of the transatlantic relations is in the common interest of the member states as the security environment is becoming more fragile, and Europe is facing several new challenges. A means to this end is to deepen the cooperation between NATO and the EU.  Increasing the defence spending of member states is important to the whole of Europe, because it is an investment into the security of the continent.  Hungary intends to fulfill its commitment in this regard until 2024.

The “mini Summit” held in the Belgian capital was part of the first official tour of new American President Donald Trump, who is paying visits for several days. The meeting provided the US President with an opportunity to make personal contact with the leaders of allied countries and share his main ideas about NATO.

(Ministry of Defence)