Imre Szekeres Met With US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates

The United States of America supports the economic development of Hungary, and will make every effort to ensure that the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations, as well as the international banking system, grant sufficient support to resolve temporary financial problems, said James Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State to Dr. Imre Szekeres in Washington on Wednesday.

In the opinion of the head of the defence portfolio, the statement of Steinberg clearly demonstrates that the US government keeps an eye on the situation of the Hungarian financial and banking system. Imre Szekeres has confirmed it to Deputy Secretary Mr Steinberg: the economic foundations of Hungary are solid, the country had successfully consolidated the budget in the past three years, "…nevertheless, the crisis sweeping through global economy has also reached our country". He said "…measures to be taken by the Hungarian government will, in a short period of time (…) result in significant changes in the situation that has evolved". In response to the question of the Hungarian News Agency, the minister said Deputy Secretary of State Mr Steinberg had not voiced any concerns over the situation in Hungary, and Mr Steinberg’s words reflected an absolutely supportive attitude.

The two parties have agreed that a stronger NATO would offer enhanced security to the world, consequently the efficiency of the Alliance should be further improved. They emphasized the importance of new initiatives in NATO that are launched jointly or separately by the Hungarian Defence Forces and the US military, as well as the Ministry of Defence and Pentagon, for such initiatives facilitate the creation of a stronger and more efficient NATO. The agreement on strategic airlift capability, and the Hungarian proposal for financing the NATO Response Force were set as good examples. Minister Szekeres has also informed his negotiating partner of Hungary’s intention to diversify its sources of natural gas supply, and Hungary assigning equally great importance to the recently signed agreement on the joint venture company responsible for the construction of Southern Stream pipeline in Hungary, as well as to the preparation of the Nabucco pipeline.

Washington highly appreciated Hungary’s initiative to host the Nabucco Conference. With regard to the upcoming NATO summit and drafting the new strategy of the Alliance, Mr Steinberg said that the Obama administration welcomes new proposals, and it is open to the initiatives of European allies.

Hungary is an important and predictable partner

Also on Wednesday, Minister Imre Szekeres was received with military honours by his US counterpart, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates in the Pentagon. They discussed issues relating to US-Hungarian military and defence cooperation and joint US-Hungarian development programs. "Today there are a total of 36 programs under way, comprising support from various US organizations, with an aggregate value of US$ 126 million", said the Hungarian Defence Minister. The negotiating parties have paid special attention to enhancing the efficiency of NATO, improving cooperation, and strengthening the capability to put forward initiatives. They engaged in a long discussion about the situation in Afghanistan, focusing on the issue how a strategy for advancement can be presented. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates told about the conceptions of the Obama administration, "which correspond to our experiences and conceptions": the training, preparation, and the equipment of the Afghan military need to be improved, economy and infrastructure have to be developed to meet the requirements, and the people of Afghanistan should take charge of the management of the processes to the highest possible extent.

Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and James Jones, the National Security Advisor of President Barack Obama have both appreciated Hungary’s performance in NATO, as well as the performance of the Hungarian Defence Forces, said Defence Minister Imre Szekeres after his meeting with the two senior officials, both of whom called Hungary an important and predictable partner. In their words, the achievement of the Hungarian Defence Forces in the transformation of NATO is as successful as their participation is in joint operations, which has made it possible to rely on the Hungarian military not only in exercising customary forms but regarding the new initiations as well. They emphasized the development of so-called strategic airlift capability, and the Hungarian initiative concerning the joint financing and deployment of the Response Force. “They consider Hungary as a country which significantly contributes to the joint performance of NATO", Imre Szekeres told Hungarian journalists in the National Press Club.

The head of Pentagon and the national security advisor presented the new directions of the new NATO strategy to be elaborated, aiming at creating an even more efficient and stronger NATO, transforming it into an organization which is able to make a commitment to bring stability beyond its borders, and aiming at strategic partnership with Russia, among others. Imre Szekeres was also given an insight into the new Afghanistan strategy, which relies on the fact that the Afghan military and police force have to be made capable of implementing tasks, governmental capacities have to be developed in order to have productive operation, furthermore development programs have to be launched which present an alternative for the people of Afghanistan. Both negotiating partners emphasized: the current year may bring a turn in the stabilization of Afghanistan, however, this is not exclusively a military task but one that is shared by the military and civilians.

Like the defence minister said, he has notified the national security advisor of the fact that "although it was made with the best intentions, yet it cannot be accepted" that in his recent statement President Barack Obama mentioned Hungary and the Ukraine on the same page when referring to the consequences of global financial crisis and the economic problems of emerging countries. Minister Szekeres told his colleague: "…even though the message of President Obama was clear and I do understand it, saying that the US cannot refuse to provide assistance for the economies of other states, for (their bad situation) can also have a negative effect on the United States". The minister also indicated that "the Hungarian public did not welcome the fact that two states with very different economic structures and in a very different situation were mentioned side by side in this sense". The minister added: "Mr Jones, the National Security Advisor has appreciated the indication".

Defence Minister Imre Szekeres explained in his response to a question: at the coming NATO summit, Hungary does not want to make an announcement about changing the Afghanistan commitment, for the commitment of Hungarians in the country is "highly representative", which does not need to be changed or enhanced, and there is not a reason for this either. In his answer to the question of Russian television channel RTV, the defence minister explained: NATO will maintain the open doors policy and is ready to admit any state which meets the requirements. "In my opinion, today neither the Ukraine, nor Georgia make efforts for fast accession", said the minister, adding that he hopes that when the time will come, they will join NATO. In his reply to another question, Imre Szekeres said that Russia is the strategic partner of NATO, and he also mentioned that he hopes that Russia will remain a strategic partner in the long run as well, in the interest of enhancing global security.

On Thursday, March 12, the defence minister will deliver a lecture titled ’NATO in the 21st century’ at the Research Institute of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and on Friday, March 13, he will be present in the Long Beach, California plant of the Boeing factory when the main structural parts of the first C-17 aircraft to arrive to Pápa will be assembled.