Medal Parade in Pristina

The ceremony was attended by Vera Maria Fernandes, Portugal’s Ambassador to Kosovo and Bulgaria, and Minister Counsellor Dr. Sándor Sipos, Deputy Head of Mission representing Hungary’s Ambassador to Kosovo. Also in attendance were Béla Hanák, the First Secretary of Hungary’s Ambassador to Kosovo and several high-ranking soldiers serving with KFOR.

“There are only some weeks left from the mission of the fifth rotation in Kosovo. The recent period has been an eventful one indeed. Our primary objective was to contribute to stabilizing peace in Kosovo with the forces declared to KFOR", Lt.-Col. Miklós Tajti said. The commander of the contingent added that while implementing the operational tasks, now they have reached a high point of the mission, because at this traditional medal parade held before the end of their tour of duty, the troops receive the Medal for the Balkans in recognition of their service in the NATO-led force.

The peacekeepers who are going to rotate out of the mission have served as the members of the joint Hungarian–Portuguese Tactical Reserve (TACRES) Battalion in Kosovo over the last six months. As a token of the good international cooperation, at the medal parade the Hungarians awarded some of their Portuguese comrades the ‘Peacekeeping’ Service Medal and a memorial plaque of the commander of the HDF Joint Force Command. In return, the Portuguese troops handed over the second and third grades of their national St. George Cross to the Hungarian peacekeepers.