Hungary to increase contributions to NATO

Due to the constant challenges facing the international security system, Hungary will contribute more to NATO’s defence efforts, the foreign minister said at a NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

Hungary is also continuously increasing its contributions to boosting NATO’s strength, Péter Szijjártó told Hungarian reporters during a break on the first day of the two-day summit.

To this end, Hungary has embarked on a comprehensive military reform with a view to producing a regionally competitive army, Szijjártó said.

Hungary has begun to modernise its capacities, he said, noting that the country’s defence force has recently ordered new helicopters for some 100 billion forints (EUR 308m).

Hungary’s military development scheme dubbed Zrínyi 2026 will enable it to honor its agreements to increase its defence spending to 2 percent of GDP, the minister added.

Szijjarto said Hungary will fortify its contingent of 117 troops in Afghanistan by another 12 soldiers. In addition, Hungary has decided to maintain its financial contribution to the development of the security forces in Afghanistan, equalling 500,000 dollars a year, until 2024, he said.

Further, Hungary will join NATO’s training mission in Iraq aimed at preparing that country’s security forces for protecting the territories that have been taken back from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

Hungary will expand its role in the international fight against IS by increasing the number of Hungarian soldiers serving in Iraq from 167 to 200, Szijjártó said.