The Estonian Ambassador paid an introductory visit

During the discussion with the Estonian Ambassador, Tibor Benkő welcomed the re-opening of the Estonian Embassy in Budapest in the autumn, 2018, and also highly praised that Estonia gained the non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for the years 2020-2021. He emphasised that the solidarity of the Alliance is vital for , and the security of the Baltic region is given a priority role, the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) therefore take part in the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission (BAP), and has been engaged several times in land-based sorties with individual (2015) and the V4 forces (2017) in Estonia.

The Minister said that among the new types of challenges of the 21st century security environment, the handling of the cyber threats will become an increasingly important theme for the European countries. Estonia leads the way in this respect on the Alliance-level, too. This segment is regarded by Hungary as an equally important area, which is reflected in the cyber inspectorate set up within the HDF Command, and the Cyber Academy established in June this year. The cyber area can be a new potential platform of co-operation between the two countries.

Indicating that Hungary is present both in the Tallinn-based NATO Co-operative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (NATO CCD COE), and in the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) in Estonia, the Minister suggested that with a view to mutuality, we would welcome Estonian experts in the Hungarian NFIUs, and also in the Budapest-based NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (NATO MILMED COE).

Tibor Benkő gave a briefing about the Zrínyi 2026 National Defence and Armed Forces Development Program, describing its main elements. He highlighted the comprehensiveness of the program going beyond the overall, technical modernisation, which is the pledge of the renewal of the Hungarian Defence Forces.

Photos of István Ruzsa