Csaba Hende Holds Discussion with Israeli Minister of Defence
Szöveg: honvedelem.hu / MTI | 2013. február 4. 14:55On Saturday, February 2 at the Munich security policy conference, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende held a discussion with Israeli Minister of Defence Ehud Barack on the opportunities of expanding the scope of Hungarian–Israeli cooperation.
several bilateral discussions on the margins of the conference. He added that during the 30-
minute discussion with the Israeli Minister of Defence they had explored the opportunities for
deepening the relations between the two countries, so their meeting had not primarily focused
on military cooperation.
The Minister of Defence said that at the meeting organized on an Israeli initiative, he had
stressed Hungary’s openness, while Ehud Barack had noted that following the model of
programs developed with Poland, the Israeli youth could visit Budapest as well to learn about
the history of the Holocaust.
Politicians, experts and leaders of the economy arrived from 90 countries to participate in
the international Munich security policy conference. This year’s 49th conference attracted
more attention and participants as usual, Minister Hende said. For example, the programs on
Saturday included a lunch for the Ministers of Defence. Speaking on this occasion, Christian
Schmidt, the Parliamentary Secretary of State of the German Ministry of Defence pointed out
Hungary’s professional participation in NATO’s Afghanistan mission, and praised Hungary
for having increased its contribution, the Minister of Defence said. The discussions on another
forum focused on the opportunities for pooling and sharing defence capabilities, and in this
regard, the Pápa-based Heavy Airlift Wing was mentioned as a good example, he added.
In his speech delivered at the conference, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
warned the European members of the North Atlantic Alliance against using the 2014
completion of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan to reduce military expenditures. In this
regard, Minister Hende told MTI that the idea that the further reduction of defence budgets
has serious dangers was not a new one. It had already been raised at the Chicago NATO
Summit last May that at least the nominal level of military expenditures should be maintained.
Hungary, however, has not only maintained but is also increasing its defence spending.
Hungary’s defence budget in this year is 3 per cent larger than the previous one for 2012,
which means an increase of HUF 7 billion. The increase of financial resources is greatly
needed since with only a few exceptions, the main items of military equipment in the
Hungarian Defence Forces have been in service since the era of the Warsaw Pact, and their
replacement is inevitable, Minister Hende said.
Photo: securityconference.de
