Candidate for defence minister: Hungary must build a strong and well-equipped army
Hungary must continue to increase its defence capabilities in order to guarantee its security, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the candidate for defence minister, said in a hearing before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.
Besides the war in Ukraine, Hungary must also pay attention to security challenges such as illegal migration, terrorism and cyber threats, Szalay-Bobrovniczky told parliament’s defence committee.
“We are on the side of peace; we don’t want to be part of the war,”
he said. The duty of the Armed Forces of Hungary is to guarantee peace and uphold security, he said.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that Prime Minister Viktor Orban also told parliament earlier this week that ensuring the country’s peace and security were priorities.
If Hungary is not capable of defending itself because it is “weak” in terms of military technology and personnel, it could become a target, he warned.
Therefore the country must build a strong, confident, well-equipped and competent army, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said, adding that he intended to continue Hungary’s ongoing military development scheme. He underlined the need to increase the defence budget and continue the military development programme.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky also talked about the importance of offering soldiers a career model that makes it easy to join the military and return to society after service.
He said his background in diplomacy would make NATO and other international relations an important part of his job.
Asked about the possibility that the Honvéd military hospital could be overseen by the interior ministry under the new government, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the new government structure would not go against NATO requirements or hurt the country’s military-health capabilities.
In response to another question, he said there was no conscription in Hungary, “and that’s how it will stay”.
Concerning military development, he highlighted the modernisation of individual equipment and air defence development as priorities.
The committee supported Szalay-Bobrovniczky’s nomination with four votes in favour and two abstentions.
Source: MTI
Wonderful! So the 160,000 people laid off have jobs to go to! Become another member of the army and triumph like all Hungarian military have in the past (abject failures for those that do not follow history). Hungary is not like Finland, it does not have the resources or the willpower plus is led by Putin’s protege, another pocket liner.
NATO insists on basic standards for it’s military gear, so unfortunately we cannot buy from Russia! I’m sure some of our politicians would be all in favor of doing so.
This would probably include the recent recipient of the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation – although only Mr. Szijjártó received the distinction for his “great contribution to the development of Russian-Hungarian relations” … and … “industrial and investment cooperation”, there are more proponents in our political ruling class