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V4 defense ministers meet in Slovakia to discuss EU and NATO security issues

Minister Benkő highlighted that Hungary’s NATO capability targets will be met within the framework of the “Zrinyi 2026” long-term military development program

Defense ministers from the Visegrád Group (V4) have met in the Slovakian resort of Tatranská Lomnica to discuss current NATO and EU security and defense issues.

According to MTI, another main topic of discussion was further opportunities for cooperation between the countries of the V4.

During the meeting, Hungarian Defense Minister Dr. Tibor Benkő welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the V4 Joint Military Logistics Support Group Headquarters (V4 JLSG HQ), which creates the foundations for the first joint capability that the countries of the Visegrád Group will be offering to NATO.

“The signing of the memorandum is the first step, but a huge amount of work still waits the V4 prior to reaching full military preparedness in 2020," he said.

On the second day of the forum, the main topic of discussion surrounded preparations for the meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels on November 19th and 20th. The mister stressed that during the this meeting there is a great need to develop cooperation between NATO and the European Union, and to avoid needless duplications. “Particular attention must also be paid to fulfilling the Wales commitments, and to maintaining the balance between the handling of eastern and southern challenges," he added.

Minister Benkő highlighted that Hungary’s NATO capability targets will be met within the framework of the “Zrinyi 2026” long-term military development program, and that Hungary is 100 percent filling its relative NATO posts and will continue to do so in future.