Hungarian minsiter attends meeting of V4, CEDC defence ministers

Defence Minister Tibor Benkő attended a meeting of his Visegrád Group (V4) counterparts as part of Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) in Piestany (Postyen) on Monday.

According to a Hungarian defence ministry statement, Benkő thanked Slovakia, the V4’s current presidency holder, for its work in the past year and said the group was carrying out important work for European security and stability.

The closing statement said that NATO should focus on challenges not only from the east but from the south as well.

Hungary strives to be a key partner in the CEDC, Benkő said, noting a migration crisis management exercise to be held in Hungary in October dubbed Cooperative Security 19. He said 15 countries will send observers to the exercise in which military and police forces will practice coordinated crisis situation manoeuvres.

The ministers discussed security and stability issues in the Western Balkans, which are of strategic importance for central Europe and Hungary, Benkő said, adding that handling those issues would be high on the group’s agenda.

Source: MTI