Defence minister: Hungary to increase role in peacekeeping

Hungary is committed to peacekeeping missions in conflict zones and fighting terrorism, and its government decided in January to raise the number of Hungarian troops in UN missions to 1,200 from 1,000, Defence Minister Tibor Benkő told a meeting of UN defence ministers in New York on Saturday.

The meeting, attended by representatives of 153 member states, focused on peacekeeping and development.

On the sidelines of the talks, Benkő met Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist, with whom he discussed experiences in operating Gripen aircraft and Hungary’s air defence mission in the Baltic states, due to start in May.

Benkő also met Irish state secretary Paul Kehoe to discuss Hungarian troops joining a UN peacekeeping unit under Irish command in Lebanon.

During his four-day visit, Benkő held meetings with NATO General Andre Lanata, US Congressman Steve Stivers, General Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, and representatives of the Hungarian diaspora.

Source: MTI