Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee in Hungary

On Friday, Admiral Di Paola met with Zsolt Németh, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and attended the wreath laying ceremony in Heroes’ Square. Following that he had meetings with Dr. Máté Kocsis, the Chairman of the Defence and Internal Security Committee of the National Assembly, and Minister of Defence Dr. Csaba Hende. In the afternoon the admiral and his host, Lt.Gen. Benkõ had a plenary meeting where they discussed the most important issues concerning the alliance. Later the admiral gave senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of social organisations a lecture.

After the eventful program the admiral and the chief of defence staff held a joint press conference where Lt.Gen. Benkõ told the media that during the active negotiation process they raised the following issues: the current situation of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the commitments of Hungary, tasks in peace missions, and our role in Afghanistan and the Balkans. Lt.Gen. Benkõ emphasised that the last two missions are priority tasks in which nearly 800 troops are participating. The chief of defence staff added: they had also discussed Hungary’s relations with other countries, among others, the Multinational Land Force, the Visegrad Countries, and the role of the Tisza Multinational Engineer Battalion.

In response to a question from the press Lt.Gen. Benkõ said: a commitment to send a further 200 troops to Afghanistan was made at the end of 2009. The Hungarian Defence Forces have done the calculations which indicate 14 billion forints. "Of this amount, 5.2 billion forints have been realised. We have been given permission to start the purchases. We do not back out, we will fulfil our commitments," said the chief of defence staff, who also noted that in October a mission of 60-80 will go to Afghanistan to operate the Kabul International Airfield, and the Mi17 Air Mentor Team will assume duty in 2011. The journalists attending the press conference also asked Tibor Benkõ about the NATO radar on the Mecsek: the general said it is evident that Hungary needs the third radar as well. "Feeling safe is important for people. The maintenance and operation of these radars has, beyond war purposes, an important role in peacetime duties and their operation ensures peaceful civil aviation, too," the chief of defence staff underlined. He said at the moment the two other radars are in a test phase.

Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola added: the discussions raised priority issues concerning the life of the alliance and the allies. He specially mentioned the operations, and within that, the ISAF mission, emphasising that 2010 is considered a critical year in Afghanistan, for the Peace Jirga, that is the Peace Council will be held this year and they are also organising a conference in Kabul to discuss the steps of the transition process. The admiral said this year is also very determining because Afghans will assume responsibility. He added: in September there will be elections in Afghanistan, and the meeting of heads of state and government will take place at the end of the year in Lisbon. Te admiral said: Afghanistan, building security and a viable country is a question of key importance for the international community. Giampaolo Di Paola also mentioned the role of Hungary in the Balkans and Kosovo, and thanked the Hungarians for their performance. The chairman added: in their meeting with the chief of defence staff they had also discussed NATO’s new strategic concept. He said it is fundamental to identify the future of NATO’s structure, which will be on the agenda in Lisbon as well.

In response to the question of a journalist the admiral said the primary task of missions serving in Afghanistan is to train and prepare the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police, and to support the government in developing capabilites necessary to govern the country. Referring to the province of Kandahar the admiral said that their main objective is to achieve that the province is under the control of the government instead of insurgents. The admiral said: it is not D-Day but a long process in the course of which the aforementioned region is extended day by day, parallel to the government assuming control. When he was asked a question about the dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, the admiral said they had acknowledged the change and think that there is no better person for this post than General David Petraeus. “Our strategy is right and we will continue it, it will not change because of the current situation, nevertheless, we are grateful to Gen. Stanley McChrystal for the realisation of this strategy," said Giampaolo Di Paola.