Ministers Meet in Balatonakarattya

Prior to the closing ceremony of the competition, Dr. István Simicskó held a bilateral discussion with his Serbian counterpart, Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin. At the meeting, they discussed a number of topics in regional security and defence policy and some current issues in the bilateral military cooperation of the two countries. During the discussion, Dr. István Simicskó stated that creating stability in the Western Balkan region is a priority for Hungary. As he said, “Besides mutual respect and the preservation of our traditions, the mutual expression of tribute and commemoration of our military heroes is highly important to both nations." He also emphasized the importance of personal relations, without which we cannot achieve our common goals.

In discussing the situation of the Serbian minority in Hungary and the Hungarian minority in Serbia, the two sides concluded that minorities form a bridge between the two nations. They formulated the objective of signing a bilateral cooperation agreement on war grave care, about which the two sides assured one another of their mutual cooperation, all the more so because the professional talks between the two countries are already well under way. “Everything is available for achieving real progress in this field along our common interests", the minister said. In this connection, Dr. István Simicskó underlined the role of the ministerial commissioner responsible for tribute diplomacy talks, who is instrumental in enabling Hungary to conduct this activity on a wide scale at the international level as well.

The minister pointed out that the engagement of Hungarian troops in the Balkan region is continuous in the interest of ensuring regional stability, and reaffirmed our commitment to this cause. He also said that Hungary fully supports Serbia’s accession to the European Union. Among the current issues, the two sides discussed the migration crisis situation threatening Europe. They agreed that this is the greatest challenge of our age which the EU must tackle by taking joint action, and that the problem must be addressed first of all at the hot spots. In connection with this topic, the Minister of Defence stated that “A country unable to defend its own borders cannot remain a nation state for a long time." For this reason, nations must join forces and defend the borders of our countries, with Christian values in mind.