21 Mar. 2004

Secretary General visits Hungary News 19/03/2004 - NATO Secretary General to visit Hungary During the five years of its NATO membership, Hungary has proven itself to be a reliable Ally, NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer said during a visit to Budapest on 22 March. The Secretary General met for talks with President Ferenc Madl, Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs and Defence Minister Ferenc Juhasz. His visit coincided with the fifth anniversary of Hungary joining NATO. The Secretary General praised Hungary’s contribution to the Alliance, saying that Hungary had achieved a high level of political integration, while military integration is moving ahead and should continue at a fast pace. Need for rapidly deployable forces Speaking to reporters, the Secretary General said, that - like other Allies - Hungary needs to have deployable, usable and well-equipped forces. In this regard, he welcomed the recent decision of the Hungarian Parliament to change the constitution in order to enable the country to react quickly to emerging crises and participate in NATO missions as necessary. “The defence of Hungary today begins in far-away places like Afghanistan,” Mr. de Hoop Scheffer stressed, “The best way to ensure that we maintain both our collective defence capabilities, as well as instruments for dealing with new security challenges lies in the modernisation of armed forces.” In his meetings, the Secretary General also discussed key issues on the Alliance’s political agenda ahead of the upcoming Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Istanbul, 28 and 29 June.