The foreign minister told parliament this morning that Hungary is a reliable ally as evidenced by last week’s NATO summit.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said NATO membership was a symbol of Hungary having reclaimed its ability to decide about its own future after the long period of communist dictatorship.
The minister said the summit declaration was good from Hungary’s point of view. It recognizes mass illegal migration as a security risk and reaffirms NATO’s commitment to the global fight against terrorism, undertaking to play an active role thereof.
Minister Szijjártó said Hungary is contributing to the success of NATO missions, increasing the number of its troops in Kosovo and Afghanistan and resuming air defense patrols in the Baltic region.
Hungary is now also spending over 20 percent of its defense budget on developments, and has committed to a timetable to meet the defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP.