Dr. István Simicskó Meets With NATO Secretary General
Szöveg: Ministry of Defence | 2017. március 23. 18:20On Thursday, 23 March – the closing day of the NATO Transformation Seminar – NATO Secretay General Jens Stoltenberg honored the prestigious event with his presence and held a discussion with Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó at a bilateral meeting.
According to current plans, with an annual increase of 0.1 per cent, Hungary’s defence budget will approach the NATO guideline of two per cent of the GDP until 2026. At the same time, the minister added that we are open to accelerating this process so that the defence budget can reach the expected level.
The minister of defence emphasized that our goal is not only to increase the financial resources but also to spend them as planned by allocating them to the development of specific military capabilities. “Not only to spend more, but to spend better!" He also pointed out that this year’s defence budget is 18 per cent higher than the one last year, and from this year on the expenditures on development will reach 20 per cent of the defence spending.
Speaking about Hungary’s role in military operations, Dr. István Simicskó said that in accordance with our pledges made in NATO, our troops are currently present at several sites around the world and are actively engaged in tackling the challenges at hot spots in the south. We continue to take these tasks seriously and are ready to further increase our contribution, for example in Iraq.
In his answer, the NATO Secretary General spoke appreciatively of Hungary’s commitment to fulfill the pledges made in NATO, underscoring the steps it has taken to increase its defence budget and its excellent operational role.
Photo: Veronika Dévényi
