Photo Exhibition About The Role Of The Dutch And The Hungarian PRTs

The opening ceremony of the photo exhibition  attended by Major General István Juhász, Head of the Operational and Training Department of the MoD, and Major General József Kovács, Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Command of the Hungarian Defence Forces, among others  was held on the occasion of the meeting of Jack de Vries, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Dr. Ágnes Vadai, the State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence.

State Secretary Jack de Vries said at the exhibition that these photographs also prove how important the Afghanistan commitment is. “I have been to Afghanistan on several occasions and saw the troops’ extraordinarily high level of expertise," the secretary of state started his speech, also expressing his respect for those who are helping the locals in Afghanistan as the representatives of the Hungarian Defence Forces. He underlined that the photographs of the exhibition show us the objectives undertaken and accomplished by the two states, Hungary and the Netherlands. “We have to make joint efforts and share our knowledge," he added. The state secretary called attention to the organization of education and public health care in Afghanistan, and every other activity that makes the locals feel safe. Jack de Vries also emphasized the importance of diplomacy in Afghanistan.

State Secretary József Bali pointed out in his opening speech that it was three years ago that we took over the command of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Baghlan from the Netherlands. Like he said peacekeeping, crisis management, and the deployment of troops is a long and difficult process. “Let us recall the euphoria we felt at the end of the cold war – we thought opposition is over. Unfortunately, this did not happen," said the state secretary, adding that it is the responsibility of every country to realize that we can guarantee security in the world only if we cooperate with each other. The state secretary underlined that the participation of the Hungarian Defence Forces in the Afghanistan mission has significantly contributed to the fact that Hungarian soliders are held in esteem. Like he said, as of the late ’80s we have been undertaking ever higher level operations setting higher and higher requirements. "We train our soldiers, we prepare them, and do everything for the security of the operational areas," added the state secretary.

The photographs of the exhibition (among them the pictures of Veronika Dévényi, the photographer of Magyar Honvéd magazine and honvedelem.hu, taken in Afghanistan) show many activities of the PRTs, for instance we can see a Hungarian EOD technician working with an EOD robot at the Kabul airport, lots of genre photos from 2008, taken while the troops were distributing clothes and blankets among the locals, and we can see the moments of handing over gifts on children’s day. At the exhibition we can also take a look at the Hungarian medical contingent, the armoured transport vehicles on exercise, or the photos taken at the council of the tribal leaders.