06.11.2024.
Meeting between defence ministers of Serbia and Hungary
Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić has met with Minister of Defence of Hungary Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in Belgrade, today.
After playing the national anthems and inspecting the ceremonial honour guard during the arrival ceremony, the delegations had talks.Minister Gašić expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and the open and cordial talks. According to him, today's meeting is very important in the context of the development of strategic cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and Hungary in the field of defence.
- I would like to emphasize that the current political relations between Serbia and Hungary are at the highest level in history and that the continuity and number of meetings of the highest officials of our respective countries in the previous period confirm the determination of both sides to further enhance overall cooperation. What provided impetus to the friendly relations between our two countries is personal friendship between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Thanks to the exceptionally open and close relationship between the two statesmen, our two countries are developing cooperation that is also successfully progressing in the field of defence – the Serbian Minister of Defence said.
As he pointed out, today’s talks provided an opportunity to exchange views on the security situation in the region.- For Serbia, the main security threat is the attempt of illegal and unilateral secession of the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija and the recognition of the so-called Kosovo by a certain number of states. When it comes to cooperation in the field of defence between Serbia and Hungary, we have noted that it is intensive and meaningful and that it is being improved and developed in new areas. I believe that our future relations will be built through the strengthening of military-to-military, military-technical and especially military-economic cooperation. There is significant room for the development of military-medical cooperation between the Military Health Department of the Ministry of Defence of Serbia and the Military Medical Centre of the Hungarian Armed Forces, and I expect that the upcoming visit of the Hungarian delegation, in the second half of November, will provide an incentive for further harmonization and concrete cooperation in the field of military medicine – Minister Gašić said.
He thanked the Hungarian Minister of Defence for his personal engagement in further strengthening of cooperation and friendship between our two countries.
- I am confident that, based on mutual understanding and support, we will continue to build and strengthen cooperation between our departments, thus contributing to the development of overall cooperation between Serbia and Hungary - Minister Gašić pointed out.At the beginning of his address, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky expressed his deepest condolences on the recent tragedy in Novi Sad. He then thanked Minister Gašić for his hospitality and emphasized the importance of today's visit, especially for cooperation in the field of defence.
- Last year, we signed a very important Strategic Agreement in the Defence Field. On that occasion, we sought to encompass significant, substantive aspects of cooperation in the field of defence, especially in the field of defence industry. Today, we also discussed military-medical cooperation and various other areas in which we can cooperate together. We touched upon the security of the Western Balkan region, as well as the support that Hungary has always provided to Serbia and its path to becoming a member of the European Union. We believe that it should become a part of it, because the country merits and deserves it – the Hungarian Minister of Defence emphasized.
As he said, he also discussed with Minister Gašić the dreadful war that is going on in the neighbourhood and expressed position of Hungary that it is always better to use diplomatic means and stop the conflicts as soon as possible.Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky concluded that the cooperation between our two countries has recently been at a historically high level and added that this will certainly influence the cooperation between the two defence ministries in the future.
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