Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary is a "loyal and reliable" NATO ally that contributes significantly to the development of the alliance’s defense capacities, adding that this was crucial in the current "new era of world politics".
After a working breakfast with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Minister Szijjártó said it is important that "in the completely new geopolitical reality" NATO return to its original goals of being the world’s strongest defense alliance.
"This defense alliance needs to strengthen its defense capabilities," Minister Szijjártó said. "And as a loyal and reliable ally, Hungary contributes significantly to the development of NATO’s defense capacities."
He noted that 2025 will be the third consecutive year in which Hungary spends more than 2 percent of its GDP on defense.
"And it should be noted that this isn’t something that’s totally obvious, as there are still eight member states -- so a quarter of our allies -- that haven’t been able to reach this 2 percent level," he said.
Hungary, he said, was a NATO frontrunner in terms of defense developments, noting that close to half of its defense budget went towards this goal, putting it in second place in the alliance behind Poland.
Meanwhile, Minister Szijjártó said the NATO multinational division centre in Hungary aimed at bolstering the alliance’s eastern flank will achieve full operational capability next week.
Also, the number of Hungarian troops participating in NATO missions worldwide now exceeds 1,000, he said. The minister also announced that the Hungarian government has again agreed to participate in the policing of Baltic airspace.
"This means that the Hungarian Air Force will again be deployed to Lithuania for four months with 80-90 troops, two fighters and one spare, where we will take part in the policing of Baltic airspace from the summer months until the end of the autumn," he said.