The world faces a new era of security and defence, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the defence minister, told the Berlin Security Conference / 21th Congress on European Security and Defence on Thursday, the ministry said. Threats appear in the form of war from the east and waves of illegal migration from the south, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said at the event also addressed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The strengthening of NATO is a common interest and Hungary’s position is that NATO is a defence alliance of independent states, and the alliance can only be built on strong national defence forces, he added. Hungary is carrying out one of the largest defence force developments in Hungarian history, involving the acquisition of new equipment and greater attention paid to personnel, to create a structurally modern and effective army, he added. Also, developments in the country’s defence industry are aimed at creating a defence ecosystem involving innovation and building links with the international defence industry network, he said.
Hungary is a dedicated and reliable NATO ally, as proven by its participation in international operations, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. Hungary’s participation in international missions is among the highest in NATO, he added.
During his stay in Berlin, Szalay-Bobrovniczky held talks with counterpart Christine Lambrecht, Tobias Lindner, minister of state at the Federal Foreign Office, and several representatives of the Bundestag.