Tibor Benkő Holds Talks on Defence Cooperation in Bratislava

Szöveg: Defence Staff/MTI | 2013. április 10. 9:35

Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, the Chief of the Defence Staff discussed the experiences of defence cooperation between Hungary and Slovakia with Jaroslav Baska, the chairman of the Slovak parliamentary defence committee on Thursday, April 4 in Bratislava. The reason for the visit – paid at the invitation of Lt.-Gen. Peter Vojtek, Slovak Chief of Defence – was the annual meeting of the two countries’ chiefs of defence, which was held in Bratislava this year.

During the two-day visit on April 4–5, the Slovak side informed his Hungarian partner about
the current state of the strategic defence review related to the reform of the Slovak military,
also touching on the current condition of the Slovak armed forces and the legal aspects of
the new service act for the military of Slovakia. Further topics on the agenda included the
ongoing participation in crisis response operations and the vision for the future.

The briefing given by the Slovak partners covered the field of pooling and sharing capabilities
within the international cooperation. With respect to bilateral cooperation, it gave an
assessment of the current situation and provided opportunity to discuss the plans for the future
as well.

Besides the joint projects of the two countries’ defence forces in progress, at their meeting
held on April 4, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, the Chief of the Defence Staff and Jaroslav Baska also
discussed several options for developing defence cooperation as well as the setting up of a
joint battle group by 2016 within the group of the ‘Visegrád Four’ countries. This V4 battle
group will be a close to 3000-strong unit to be placed on standby to execute tasks for the
European Union in six-month rotation periods.

After the meeting, Tibor Benkő told Hungarian News Agency MTI that both partners had
given a very positive assessment of the relations between the two countries, and at the same
time explored the scope for developing cooperation. He pointed out that among others, the
NATO Centres of Excellence set up in the two countries provide further opportunities for
cooperation. He stressed that Hungary has a Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine
(MILMED COE), whereas Slovakia has a similar institution, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Centre of Excellence (EOD COE).

He added that there is good cooperation between the two centers – since last year, one
Hungarian expert has been working at the Slovak institution within an exchange program and
a Slovakian delegate is being hosted in Hungary’s MILMED COE. The topics of discussion at
the meeting also included the lessons learned by the two countries’ military units in missions
abroad and the military exercises that are due to take place this year.

Speaking about these, the Hungarian Chief of Defence stressed that Hungarian soldiers would
participate in all exercises which are scheduled to take place in Slovakia.

In closing his two-day program, Gen. Tibor Benkő paid visits to the Sliač Air Base and to the
Institute of Special Health Care and Training (ISHCT) in Lešt, where he attended a dynamic
phase to watch an infantry/tactical simulator and a training show by the 5th Special Forces
Regiment.