Minister discusses NATO integration, coronavirus defence with Georgian counterpart

Hungary stands by Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and supports its efforts towards NATO integration, Hungarian Defence Minister Tibor Benkő said after talks with his Georgian counterpart.

In a statement published on honvedelem.hu on Friday, Benkő said that besides direct support for Georgia, Hungary has also contributed to NATO programmes to help Georgia join the alliance, as well as similar programmes of the European Union and Visegrad Group.

“Georgia basically performs as if it was a member state already,” Benkő said, citing the country’s contributions to NATO’s crisis management efforts in Afghanistan as an example.

During his talks with Irakli Garibashvili, topics included NATO’s Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine in Budapest, which was instrumental in preparations to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic during the first wave in March 2020.

Benkő pledged Hungary’s support for Georgia in this respect, noting Hungary has already approved the export to Georgia of pharmaceutical ingredients used to treat the disease.

Garibashvili noted Hungary’s role in the EU’s monitoring mission in Georgia, and thanked Hungary for its support in its cooperation with NATO.

During the two-day visit, Benko also met Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and they discussed the region’s security and opportunities for further cooperation, honvedelm.hu said.

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