Thanks to the Hungarian Defence Forces and law enforcement agencies, Hungary is one of the safest countries in the world today, the Defence Minister stated on Wednesday in Budapest at his hearing before Parliament’s Defence and Policing Committee.

István Simicskó said: as part of the fundamental national and international responsibilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces, some 17 thousand soldiers took part in the management of the illegal migration situation, in the interest of protecting the southern borders, together with members of the law enforcement agencies. The number of soldiers participating in missions in Iraq and the Western Balkans region has been increased, and some one thousand soldiers are currently serving abroad in 14 countries on three continents.

The Minister personally regards the reinstatement on new foundations of the reservist system and the launch of a territorial reservist scheme as one of the most important developments. He said: more than a thousand people have enrolled in the new system to date. They are planning to have reservist units in all 197 districts by 2026. The target number for the reservist staff was set at twenty thousand.

He pointed out: with the defence and army development programme called Zrínyi 2026 which also has a fixed fiscal allocation, the Hungarian Defence Forces will become Central Europe’s most significant defence forces and will further reinforce their ties with NATO.

The Hungarian Defence Forces will additionally play an active role in the Central European Defence Cooperation and in V4, and Hungary will soon perform the responsibilities of presidency in both organisations at the same time.

There is no branch of the military where there will be no development “sooner or later”, Mr Simicskó said.

He highlighted: they are also planning to renew the fleets of transport aircraft and helicopters. He said in the context of the latter: in addition to refurbishment, they are also planning to procure new helicopters once the necessary funds are available.

The development of ground forces is also on the agenda, and efforts have been made recently to launch developments, in addition to maintaining the operating capacity of the Hungarian Defence Forces, which will enable them to respond to new types of challenges.

The revival of the Hungarian arms industry likewise forms part of the army development programme which will boost the economy and create jobs all at once.

The Minister further highlighted that they have succeeded in stopping the outflow of personnel from the Defence Forces in the past few years. The Hungarian Defence Forces offer a predictable career and social prestige to Hungarian soldiers.

The decisions which form part of the Zrínyi 2026 programme too are soldier-centred, he remarked.

Mr Simicskó said: from fiscal funds worth HUF 1.2 to 1.3 billion all claimants of the Defence Forces Health Care Fund have received full compensation.

He reiterated that they established a Defence Sports Association, launched a shooting range development programme and started a cadet programme as part of which they entered into contracts with several secondary schools. He further highlighted that the discipline of defence science is also popular in higher education. He said in this context that those who agree to take part in basic reservist training during their university studies receive a substantial scholarship grant.

He informed the Committee that the project for the refurbishment of monuments and war graves on the occasion of the anniversary of World War I is also making good progress.

Szilárd Németh, President of the Committee (Fidesz) said that while he has not held the office of President for a long time, he has had the opportunity even during this short while to observe that instead of the continual process of “downsizing, and disheartening and demoralising developments” Hungarian soldiers have appreciated in the past few years that major developments have been launched in the Hungarian Defence Forces.

Mátyás Firtl, Vice-President of the Committee (KDNP – Christian Democratic People’s Party) thanked the Hungarian Defence Forces for their performance.