Minister Naď: Slovakia and Hungary to intensify and deepen their defence cooperation

The bilateral security and defence relations between Slovakia and Hungary are set pragmatically, with both sides showing mutual interest in their continuity in the positive direction, as has been the case so far, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď confirmed after meeting his counterpart Tibor Benkő during his first official visit to Hungary. The head of the SVK MOD used this occasion to introduce the new SVK Defence Attaché to Hungary, Col Norbert Tornyai.

During the talks, the Defence Ministers focused on issues of bilateral, regional and international security and defence cooperation. One of the results of today′s meeting is an agreement to reactivate the SVK-HUN Mixed Commission, which came into existence following the conclusion of the Agreement on Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation between the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Government of the Republic of Hungary in 1999. “The Commission′s working groups, led by the State Secretaries, will work together towards shaping a more humane policy for service members. Our aim is to cooperate with our partners from Hungary in order to drive improvement of the Service conditions for soldiers,” explained Minister Naď. Apart from this, both leaders agreed that the ongoing talks on the cooperation agreement between the SVK Air Force and the HUN Air Force should be completed quickly.

Both Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the level and frequency of the SVK-HUN defence cooperation on exercises, consider, for example, Ex BRAVE WARRIOR, Ex TOXIC VALLEY, Ex COOPSEC and Ex SLOVAK SHIELD. Another excellent example of the SVK-HUN military partnership is the TISA project, which, aimed at delivering assistance to civilian populations, has a part to play in mitigating the effects of floods along the Tisa River. “Every joint project contributes to developing a good relationship between the neighbouring States, which is why we are open to further options for military and defence cooperation,” said Minister J. Naď.

The heads of the MODs also discussed ways of cooperating on defence modernisation programmes and acquisition processes. In this context, Minister Jaroslav Naď provided an update on the modernisation programmes of the Slovak Armed Forces, including the priority process of procuring the radar systems for the SVK Air Force, and presented the MOD′s main priorities for 2020 - 2024 and the preparation of the new strategic security and defence documents, as well as paying special attention to internal political developments in both countries.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď thanked his Hungarian partner Tibor Benkő for his friendly reception in Hungary and an inspiring discussion and invited him for a reciprocal visit to Slovakia and to the International Defence Exhibition Bratislava (IDEB).