The Current State of Turkish–Hungarian Relations Is Encouraging
Szöveg: Ministry of Defence | 2017. november 28. 11:00On his visit to Turkey last week, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó explored the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries, and we can safely say that there are no open unresolved issues in our military-to-military relations.
According to Dr. István Simicskó, the migration wave affecting whole Europe has serious security risks, and the negative security trends are expected to continue for a while. The Minister of Defence said that it is in the common interest of all of us that we take joint action against illegal migration and international terrorism by taking effective measures guaranteeing long-term solutions. The minister conducted closed-door talks with his Turkish counterpart, and then, after a discussion between the delegations, he signed two letters of intent and an agreement on mutual protection of classified data in defence industry.
Dr. István Simicskó called the signature of the documents a historic moment and the result of yearslong work. He pointed out that the power and capabilities of the Turkish armed forces and Turkey’s stability are guarantees of the security of the people of Europe. Defence cooperation is equally important to the Hungarian and the Turkish people, and further strengthens the friendship between the two nations.
During his visit to Turkey that ended on last Sunday, the minister of defence went to see the plants of several Turkish defence industry companies in order to receive an update on the possibilities of the Turkish armed forces. He underlined that Hungary gives priority to strengthening domestic defence industry capacities. Our national interest is that the Hungarian defence industry can participate in international defence industry cooperation to a more significant extent than before. We are interested in and open to exploring the possibilities of defence industry cooperation.
Turkey is in possession of real combat experience and after the United States, it has the second largest military in NATO. In the interest of the development of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the defence budget is to increase annually, so by 2024 Hungary will spend 2 per cent of its annual GDP on defence. The recently launched Zrínyi 2026 National Defence and Armed Forces Development Program is a complex and comprehensive program which is aimed at creating the military that can ensure Hungary’ defence at a high level and continue fulfilling our international commitments in an outstanding way.
Photo: Ministry of Defence
