General Dr. Gábor Böröndi holds discussions in Washington

Speaking to Hungarian news agency MTI, in assessing the discussion with General Dan Caine, General Dr. Gábor Böröndi said that the dialogue is much more open in the changed atmosphere of bilateral political relations. The discussion covered the topics of training and preparation, the developments of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the situation of the Balkan region as well – he added.

He told MTI that they had also discussed how Hungary could contribute to future operations in Gaza.

According to the Hungarian Chief of Defence, the discussion has shown that due to the Budapest peace summit announced last week, Hungary “has been put on the world map” and also on the map of the United States. He called the establishment of a closer partnership in the field of the military a joint goal. He added that the expanding cooperation may be built on the currently running joint training events and exercises.

General Dr. Gábor Böröndi said that the lessons learned during the NATO-framed, country defence whole-of-government joint Exercise Adaptive Hussars 2025 – which was recently conducted with American participation in Hungary – may also serve as a basis for strengthening partnership. In talking about the development of cooperation, he highlighted some fields of key importance such as anti-drone protection, cyber security, as well as operational planning and the study of artificial intelligence.

He added that he had informed General Dan Caine about the transformation process of the Hungarian Defence Forces. He said that the currently ongoing Hungarian reform gives priority to training and equipping the soldiers and to the commissioning of new military technology, while special emphasis is being laid on the quality of training and discipline.

While in Washington, General Dr. Gábor Böröndi also met with the leaders of the National Defense University, the elite training institution of the U. S. military; here, the topics of discussion included, among others, challenges to global security and the fundamental principles of American strategic thinking. At present, two Hungarian senior officers are pursuing their studies at the Washington-based National Defense University – said the Chief of Defence, noting that he himself, too, had earlier been a student of the university for a year.