“According to the decision of the Hungarian Government, the Hungarian Defence Force will continue to play a role in the Baltic, and Tallinn had asked Hungary that Amari should be the base of operation for the Hungarian contingent participating in the reinforcement of Baltic airspace being provided within the framework of NATO”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a telephone statement to Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday following a visit to a company of Hungarian infantry stationed in Voru, Estonia.
“The deployment of the 124-strong Hungarian military contingent within the framework of NATO”s reinforced presence is the first role undertaken by the Hungarian Defence Force in Estonia. Last year, the countries of the Visegrád Group (V4) decided to take part in the NATO mission to the Baltic with a company each this year in a three-month rotation. The reinforced Hungarian infantry company is taking part in military exercises and performing training duties”, the Minister added.
Mr. Szijjártó visited the contingent on Friday, expressing the Government’s thanks for their service and for undertaking the mission, with which they will win Hungary further acclaim.
“The most dramatic changes throughout the world are currently happening within the field of security, and the security situation in Europe has never been as bad as it is now. The threat of terrorism on the continent has never before been so serious”, the Minister explained.
“Under such conditions, Hungary’s membership of NATO has become increasingly valuable. The strength of the North Atlantic Treaty organisation is provided by our mutual loyalty and solidarity, and through its military personnel Hungary is proving that it is a dependable member of NATO, and that its allies can regularly count on Hungarian soldiers stationed at several points around the world”, he said.
“We are proud of the fact that the number of Hungarian military personal stationed abroad within the framework of NATO and UN operations has reached one thousand, and we are particularly proud of our soldiers in Estonia. Every meeting with Estonian political leaders begins with their expressing their thanks for Hungary’s military presence here. This also proves the strength of the Visegrád Group in view of the fact that the related decision was made within the framework of V4 cooperation, as well as proving that we respect the assessment of every one of our allied with relation to their own security”, he declared.
“It has been decided that Hungary’s military presence in the Baltic will continue. This company’s tour of duty will end in September, but the Hungarian Defence Force will return to the Baltic in 2019 and will be taking part in the Baltic airspace defence mission with four Saab Gripen fighters and a contingent of 110 military personnel. As a result of the Hungarian presence here, Estonian-Hungarian military cooperation has developed to such an extent that Estonia has asked Hungary to use Amari in Estonia as the base of operation for Hungarian airspace defence operation, instead of Latvia, where units were stationed in 2015”, the Hungarian Foreign Minister said.
During his visit to Tallinn, Mr. Szijjártó will also be meeting with the directors of internationally acclaimed digital company Transferwise, with relation to which the Minster said: “It is clear that the competitiveness of individual countries will depend on how rapidly and efficiently they are callable of linking productivity and digitalisation. In view of the fact that the Estonian economy is one of the world’s five most highly digitalised economies, economic cooperation with the Baltic state is particularly important to Hungary. Accordingly, it is extremely significant that one of the world’s most important digital enterprises, Transferwise, operated a major centre in Budapest, which will soon be expanded with the employment of 200 new staff members. The centre, which produces high added value, currently has a staff of 40 people, mostly developers and experts working on switching to the digital economy”.
During his visit to the Estonia capital, Mr. Szijjártó will also be holding talks with Estonia’s Minister of Defence, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, with whom he will mainly discuss economic issues.