Joint action is required in the interests of European security, the Hungarian and Slovakian defence ministers agreed at a meeting on Wednesday in Budapest.

At a joint press conference with Slovakian Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď in Budapest on Wednesday, Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő said the parties “see, feel and experience what is happening in Europe and the world in general in the same way”. “We can also see that we can only successfully protect against these challenges through joint strength, a joint will and joint effort”, he added.

Jaroslav Naď indicated that Slovakia would also like to actively participate in the preparatory work relating to Hungary’s establishment of a division-level command in the interests of Central European security. In addition, the parties agreed to conclude an agreement on joint airspace surveillance at the earliest opportunity. “Hungary and Slovakia are both taking major steps in the interests of military development, and various projects are being launched, the possible joint realisation of which was also a subject of discussion”, Mr. Benkő told the press.

In reply to a question, the Hungarian Defence Minister said Slovakian soldiers have taken part in performing the same tasks as their Hungarian counterparts with relation to efforts to protect against the coronavirus pandemic. “With one exception, because they did not send soldiers to strategically important enterprises. But they were there in hospitals, took part in closing down the borders, also performed security tasks, and were involved in policing the regulations introduced by the government”, he stated.

Slovakian Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď emphasised that he arrived in Hungary not just in his role as Minister of Defence, but also as a member of the Cabinet of the Republic of Slovakia, to confirm the good relations between the two countries. He said the parties had held long, constructive talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, during the course of which they had discussed their relations within the European Union, NATO and the Visegrád Group (V4), as well as their bilateral relations. “We discussed several cooperation opportunities and joint projects within the fields of defence policy and the defence industry”, he highlighted. Mr. Nad’, who was appointed Minister of Defence four months ago, emphasised that the military has performed vital tasks with relation to protecting against the coronavirus pandemic. “There were certain weeks when we deployed 1500 soldiers from the Slovakian armed forces”, he stated.

(Ministry of Defence / MTI)