Cooperation is in our Mutual Interest

Szöveg: László Vastagh | 2011. január 19. 13:28

Dr. Csaba Hende, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Hungary gave a reception on Thursday, January 13 for the military attachés accredited to Budapest and the leadership of the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces. The event took place in the Stefánia Palace, Budapest, where the Minister made a toast to welcome his guests on the occasion of the New Year. In his speech Dr. Csaba Hende cited a Hungarian folk tale, with the moral that even though everyone of us has a special responsibility for his country, all of us are aware that the only way to achieve progress in the field of peace and security is to take joint action; in other words, cooperation is the key to doing the best service to our countries.

"We have the same task, and this year our objective remains the same as always: to make the world a safer place than it was in the previous year. In 2011, Hungary has a little more work to do in this field, as our country has taken over the rotating presidency of the European Union", said the minister, who also assured the attachés and the governments of the countries represented by them that Hungary will be working hard to attain the goals to promote the development of the European Union, and will focus on reaching common standpoints and compromises.

Dr. Csaba Hende underlined in his speech that “… this year we will continue to make efforts and carry on the process of renewal. We will further develop the volunteer reserve system, provide an entirely new basis for the officer training and introduce a career path model as well as a new human resources strategy that covers every soldier and has predictability and stability as its two most important guidelines."

The Minister said he was convinced that the renewal of the Hungarian Defence Forces would contribute to the growth and development of NATO and every friendly state. Dr. Csaba Hende thanked the guests for their excellent work, which is a highly important and valuable contribution to Hungary, and at once strengthens the ties and friendship among our nations.

On behalf of the attachés, Col. Maciej Wiklo delivered a speech, giving a brief overview of the political changes in Hungary in 2010 and noting that since then, they could see a new attitude and approach in the entire Hungarian Defence Forces, in which the focus has shifted to areas like combating corruption, the establishment of a volunteer reserve system and the ways of upgrading the HDF military equipment.

The Polish military attaché also emphasized that the Hungarian Defence Forces continue to participate in international peacekeeping operations on a high level. The professionalism of Hungarian troops is held in high esteem everywhere, and this is especially true in the areas of operation in Kosovo, BosniaHerzegovina and Afghanistan where Hungary has proven to be a very reliable partner.

The Polish field officer concluded his speech by thanking the Hungarian partners for all the support they had given to the work of the military attachés.