Tibor Benkő: The new challenges are demanded by Hungary
THE honvedelem.hu According to the report of the site, Tibor Benkő, Minister of Defense Szilárd Németh, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Deputy Minister, Constituency President, Member of Parliament, gave a briefing on 16 March in Soroksár on the Defense and Armed Forces Development Program.
In connection with the current international security situation, which also fundamentally determines the domestic defense policy, the head of the ministry has highlighted the challenges facing NATO in recent years, including the pressure of illegal migration, the emergence of hybrid warfare, the intensification of terrorism and cyber operations. Responses were requested from Hungary, located at the intersection of the eastern and southern threat directions.
Tibor Benkő also spoke about the fact that the Hungarian Armed Forces had almost ceased to exist by 2010, and the economic situation of the country only in 2015 allowed the Cabinet to start developing it substantially. For these reasons, the government has launched the Defense and Armed Forces Development Program (HHP), which will enable the Hungarian Armed Forces to become an army of the best-trained soldiers in the region, able to guarantee Hungary’s sovereignty and the security of the Hungarian people.
The Minister talks about the current state of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He emphasized that NATO professes the principle of deterrence and dialogue at the same time, the position of the Hungarian government in this case is rock solid, the conflict must be resolved through diplomacy, and the issue of dialogue and negotiations cannot be replaced. Like you said
Hungary strongly condemns the Russian aggression, but Hungary must not get involved in this war, nor must NATO.
He pointed out that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had stated emphatically that NATO troops would not enter Ukrainian territory and that, he added, the war should not be prevented from crossing the Ukrainian border in any form. “What should not be allowed for this war to escalate further and for anyone, with any kind of event, to push Hungary into this war. That is why it is very important that we act carefully, prudently and proactively on every single issue, ”he said.
Tibor Benkő reported on the schedule of the acquisition of military equipment, defense education, the development of the Honvéd Kadét Program, cooperation agreements with educational institutions, the successful development of the Voluntary Reserve System, which now has 11,500 members, and the resumption of the Hungarian military industry. He pointed out that the new approach to the HHP and the 13,000 more soldiers serving in the Hungarian Armed Forces than in 2010.
The Minister of Defense stressed that the government supports the developments as much as possible, both morally and financially. In 2022, the ministry can spend HUF 1,003 billion on defense expenditures, and by 2024 we will reach the defense budget of 2% of GDP.
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