Minister of Defence of the Hungarian Republic Csaba Hende and Austrian Defence Minister Norbert Darabos held talks at a border meeting in Szombathely on 6 May. Following the strategic principle of pooling and sharing Hungary is to offer its capabilities in three areas: air policing tasks, defence against IED (Improvised Explosives Devices) attacks and medical support, Csaba Hende said at the Szombathely meeting.
The two ministers exchanged views on current defence security issues and the programme of the Hungarian EU presidency. They also discussed opportunities for Central-European cooperation and the military relations of the two countries. At the press conference following the plenary meetings Norbet Darabos emphasized: the Austrian-Hungarian relations - including the cooperation in military higher education - are characterized by quantity and quality. He added that the military cooperation between Hungary and Austria was excellent despite the former being a NATO member and the latter neutral. Austrian Defence Minister outlined: during Hungary’s EU presidency the Central-European regional cooperation has been strengthened.
During the talks the parties reviewed the EU-led operation deployed in Bosnia Herzegovina. Both ministers agreed that the stability in the West-Balkans was crucial both for Hungary and Austria since a sizeable contingent was stationed by both countries in the region. Minister of Defence of the Hungarian Republic Csaba Hende pointed out: pooling and sharing of defence capabilities as the top priority of defence security has also been discussed. Consequently Hungary has offered three capabilities: fourteen Gripen fighter aircrafts to accomplish the air policing tasks, a HDF Central Training Base in Szentendre to provide C-ED (Countering Improvised Explosives Devices) courses and 800 military physicians ready to take an active part in medical support, Csaba Hende said. Minister of Defence Csaba Hende thanked for the assistance provided by the disaster relief experts of the Austrian Army in last year’s red sludge disaster in Kolontár, Hungary.
(kormany.hu)
