On October 30 in the morning, Hungarian Minister of Defence Csaba Hende met with Ray Mabus, the US Secretary of Navy – who is on a visit to Hungary – at a bilateral discussion.

At the meeting, the two partners jointly concluded that military cooperation is an outstanding field of the Hungarian–American relations. The US Secretary pointed out the significance of the Hungarian Defence Forces’ role in missions in Afghanistan and the Balkans, and praised the Hungarian contribution to the operations.

During the discussion, Minister Hende stated that the close transatlantic relations are of fundamental importance with regard to the security of Hungary and the whole Central European region, and also talked about the operational role in Afghanistan and the Balkans, noting that our country spends 10 per cent of the defence budget on peacekeeping operations.

The two partners also discussed the large-scale joint crisis response and disaster relief exercise which is planned to take place in Hungary next year.

(Honvedelem.hu/MoD Press Office)