Hungary's minister of Defence has said that an eternal truth is that Hungary cannot be a sovereign state without combat-worthy Hungarian defence forces.
Speaking at the opening event of the program series “170 years of the Hungarian Defence Forces” held in Budapest on Wednesday, Dr. István Simicskó said that in his capacity as minister, while working to defend Hungary’s borders, he had reviewed the activity of all his predecessors and determined how successful they were.
The minister said that the launch of the program celebrating the 170th anniversary of the Hungarian Defence Forces was scheduled for this month to honor the first minister of War, Lázár Mészáros, and all who followed him.
The minister added that patriotism is important in preserving Hungary’s independence, and the Hungarian Defence Forces and their soldiers must set an example of it.
“In order to be able to preserve our Hungarian identity and Hungary, we must build the Hungarian Defence Forces with active care, attention and constructive creativity," he said.
The minister added that a period of major development has started in the Hungarian Defence Forces as a result of the recently launched Zrínyi 2026 national defence and armed forces development program.