Hungary supports Georgia’s aspirations for accession in every respect

On Thursday, Defence Minister Tibor Benkő met with Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze in Budapest. After receiving his counterpart in Heroes’ Square, the Hungarian minister conducted a plenary discussion with him on common defence-related topics concerning the two countries. At a press conference held after the meeting, Defence Minister Tibor Benkő said that their negations had been useful and important.

The Hungarian minister stated that this time, too, he had consulted with his counterpart in the spirit of the ongoing negotiation process, which means that they are giving priority to Georgia’s aspirations for accession to the European Union and NATO. As he said, the values Georgia represents are in harmony with the values of the Hungarian government and the European Union, and so both countries consider it important that their future cooperation continue to be effective and successful. “We have common goals and intentions, we are moving in the same direction so we can play a role in stabilizing the fragile international peace”, said the minister of defence, adding that Hungary is committed to support the stabilization efforts in the Caucasus.

Tibor Benkő emphasized that the two countries are cooperating in countless fields of defence, since – as he said – “we need to join forces to address today’s challenges”. Speaking about the results of the recent past and the present, he highlighted the functioning of the joint groups of subject matter experts, Hungary’s participation in the Intermarium Cyber Security Forum organized by Georgia and the Georgian experts’ visit to the Szolnok-based Regional Special Operations Component Command (R-SOCC). “We are also sharing with the Georgian side our experiences of Hungary’s and the Hungarian Defence Forces’ road to NATO accession”, said Tibor Benkő, who noted that one of the most significant current results is Georgia’s signing of a cooperation agreement with the Budapest-based NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (MILMED COE) during the day, which reaffirms its intention of accession.

In his briefing, Juansher Burchuladze thanked the Hungarian government for the support. As he said, in recent years an increasing number of meetings has taken place between the two countries in the fields of foreign affairs, economy, culture and defence, which indicates Hungary’s high importance as a partner of Georgia in realizing its aspirations of integration. “Georgia is determined to join the European Union and NATO, and Hungary supports it all along on this long road in every respect”, he said.