Defence Minister Csaba Hende started his official visit to the United States of America on 13 September with his participation in the UH-1N program at Andrews Air Base near Washington DC.

The program of the week-long visit includes a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta on Friday. At the meeting, the two partners will discuss key issues in Hungarian–US defence cooperation, joint commitment in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Afghanistan as well as the security situation in the Western Balkans and the Middle East.

Following the visit to Washington DC, the Minister will head to Tampa where he will meet the leaders of the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) and the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to discuss Hungary’s role in operations and the scope of further capability development. As part of the program, the Hungarian delegation will participate in a ceremony where members of the Hungarian community in Sarasota are going to take their oath of citizenship. At this event, Minister Csaba Hende will deliver a speech and install Dr. István Gergátz into office as the Honorary Consul of Hungary.

(Honvedelem.hu, MoD Press Office)