On Saturday, February 2 at the Munich security policy conference, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende held a discussion with Israeli Minister of Defence Ehud Barack on the opportunities of expanding the scope of Hungarian–Israeli cooperation.

Minister Hende informed Hungarian News Agency MTI on the phone that he had held several bilateral discussions on the margins of the conference. He added that during the 30-minute discussion with the Israeli Minister of Defence they had explored the opportunities for deepening the relations between the two countries, so their meeting had not primarily focused on military cooperation.

The Minister of Defence said that at the meeting organized on an Israeli initiative, he had stressed Hungary’s openness, while Ehud Barack had noted that following the model of programs developed with Poland, the Israeli youth could visit Budapest as well to learn about the history of the Holocaust. 

Politicians, experts and leaders of the economy arrived from 90 countries to participate in the international Munich security policy conference. This year’s 49th conference attracted more attention and participants as usual, Minister Hende said. For example, the programs on Saturday included a lunch for the Ministers of Defence. Speaking on this occasion, Christian Schmidt, the Parliamentary Secretary of State of the German Ministry of Defence pointed out Hungary’s professional participation in NATO’s Afghanistan mission, and praised Hungary for having increased its contribution, the Minister of Defence said. The discussions on another forum focused on the opportunities for pooling and sharing defence capabilities, and in this regard, the Pápa-based Heavy Airlift Wing was mentioned as a good example, he added.

In his speech delivered at the conference, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned the European members of the North Atlantic Alliance against using the 2014 completion of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan to reduce military expenditures. In this regard, Minister Hende told MTI that the idea that the further reduction of defence budgets has serious dangers was not a new one. It had already been raised at the Chicago NATO Summit last May that at least the nominal level of military expenditures should be maintained. Hungary, however, has not only maintained but is also increasing its defence spending. Hungary’s defence budget in this year is 3 per cent larger than the previous one for 2012, which means an increase of HUF 7 billion. The increase of financial resources is greatly needed since with only a few exceptions, the main items of military equipment in the Hungarian Defence Forces have been in service since the era of the Warsaw Pact, and their replacement is inevitable, Minister Hende said.

(MTI)