Hungary is one of the safest countries

Speaking on the opening day of the 5th Budapest Demographic Summit, during the conversation entitled War and Peace – Aspects of Security from the Perspective of Families, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized that the people here have been and continue to be in safety, and a growing number of people keep arriving here to enjoy this safety, but this requires continuous efforts, thus part of the government’s work is about finding the way to achieve this.

The minister of defence also noted that Hungarian families have been in a “mild, protracted state of shock” since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War, and today’s generations must face “unprecedented challenges” in the context of the armed conflict. Hungary wants to stay out of the war, and adopts the position that what is needed is immediate ceasefire and peace talks.

He pointed out that the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, the coronavirus pandemic, the Brexit and the acts of terror carried out in Western countries “have undermined the world as we know it” and increased the uncertainty among the people. He said that “all these have cumulated and the final shock, of course, was caused by the outbreak of the war, the contribution of which was to affect not only the soul and mind of the individual but also of the families and the community”.

According to the minister, Hungary stands in the crossfire of two large blocs as a point of connection for culture, science and politics, and it feels that it is stuck between these blocs, that is why it keeps mentioning that “the war must stop”. “The biggest challenge for us is to remain in safety, and to preserve the unity of the family”, he stated.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky put a question as to how to strengthen national resilience and how to heighten the awareness of the widest possible layer of society of the fact that “this is the new reality”, and “although it sounds horrible”, part of the society or even everybody may have to participate in a security effort or in a war effort if needed. He also noted that “everyday patriotism”, the reorganization of the armed forces, the soldiers’ domestic and international assistance in disaster situations and rescue operations, the efforts to increase the esteem of the uniform and the experimental national defence education that has started in some schools are a great assistance in that.

“We need the families and their awareness of the fact that their safety is in their own hands, too, and (…) if we go down this road together, then we will succeed”, said Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.