The foreign minister has announced that Hungary will increase its number of troops serving in NATO missions by a third.
Following a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels, Péter Szijjártó confirmed that Hungary will increase the number of its troops combatting terror in Afghanistan from 100 to 170. An additional 100 soldiers will be sent to Kosovo, raising the headcount of Hungarian troops there to 500.
According to MTI, the minister stated that the troop increase would help maintain security in the Western Balkan region which is crucial for Hungary and Europe as a whole. He revealed that Hungary will be raising its total number of soldiers serving in NATO missions from 499 to 669.
Minister Szijjártó said Hungary has already fulfilled its commitment to allocate 20 percent of its defense budget to developments by 2024, noting that 23.48 percent of this year’s defense funds were being spent on military developments. He added that Hungary would raise its defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by the 2024 deadline at the latest.
During the meeting, the minister said Hungary, Slovenia and Greece had all underlined the links between terrorism and migration. The minister stated that terrorist organizations are forcing masses of people to leave their homes while unregulated migration waves give terrorists the chance to cross borders unchecked.