Readout of Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad's call with new Hungarian Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď held his first working call with his Hungarian counterpart, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky who has been in office since 24 May 2022.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “More than ever before, we find ourselves in a complicated period as we come to understand the significance and importance of State defence and Allied cooperation. Hungary is not only our neighbour, but we are also linked by a multitude of our shared projects and intense cooperation in numerous fields, not to mention the defence agenda. There is no doubt I will often be seeing the minister to seek solutions. I look forward to our cooperation.”

The phone conversation marked the first working contact with Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in his role and the first opportunity to underline the importance of cooperation between both countries. In their conversation, the two leaders addressed the current situation in Ukraine, the bilateral projects, including the SVK military's participation in the NATO Headquarters Multinational Division - Centre (HQ MND-C) based in Hungary's Székesfehérvár, and the modernisation programmes of the SVK and HUN militaries. With Slovakia taking over the V4 presidency from Hungary on 1 July 2022, this issue was a subject of discussion as well. The phone call, initiated by the Hungarian side, took place on Monday 30 May 2022.