PHOTOS: Rheinmetall plant inaugurated in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary

German businesses know very well how important Hungarian factories, skilled workers and engineers are to the global success of German brands from vehicle production to the defence industry, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at the inauguration of Rheinmetall Hungary’s plant in Zalaegerszeg on Friday.

Hungary, central Europe and Germany, Orbán said, were “inextricably linked”. “We are and will continue to be the most natural allies in maintaining competitiveness,” he added.

Besides the manufacture of fighting vehicles, the facility also has a test track and R and D centre so that production and R and D can be done in one place, Orbán noted.

“Made in Hungary in every sense of the word,” he declared, adding that “made in Hungary would not be what it is without German technology.”

Orbán said some people may think that the development of the Hungarian defence industry was scrambling in response to the war, but in fact the first relevant decisions were made in 2017. The Zalaegerszeg factory was, he added, the outcome of joint German-Hungarian “wisdom and foresight” based on an assessment of the European and world political situation.

He thanked Rheinmetall’s chairman and chief executive, Armin Papperger, for contributing towards the government’s decision-making.

The German Lynx fighting vehicle “manufactured on Hungarian soil” is operated by Hungarian workers and Hungarian engineers, Orbán said, adding that those involved in operating this cutting-edge technology had acquired their education in Hungarian schools, and this fact served as a ripost to those who slammed the country’s public education system.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said that strength was needed to ensure peace, and the government was pursuing its plan to create an independent defence industry.

Strength for peace means mental, economic and military resilience, with mental strength needed for Hungary to “resist the pressure the backers of war who want to force the country into war,” he said. “For Hungary, peace is the sole moral and political position to be undertaken,” he added.