Our goal is a strong, secure Central Europe

On 21 October, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky continued his discussions with his counterpart Defence Minister Ivan Anušic in Zagreb.

In his social media post, the Hungarian minister of defence emphasized the excellent military cooperation between the two countries. “Hungary provides air policing in Croatian airspace until the new fighter jets of Croatia are ready to take over” – he wrote. He added that as a framework nation, our southern neighbor has an active role in the activities of the Székesfehérvár-based Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), and through its assumed role in the Forward Land Forces Battle Group (FLF BG HUN), it contributes to the security of NATO’s eastern flank.

Besides, “Croatian troops have also participated in country defence Exercise Adaptive Hussars 2025, which is a proof of the strength of Alliance cooperation” – highlighted Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

On Tuesday in Zagreb, together with Croatian Defence Minister Ivan Anušic, the Hungarian minister of defence held a joint press conference, where he said that their discussions had centered on the protection of sovereign borders, the deepening of military and security policy cooperation between the two countries, the expansion of defence industrial relations and the guaranteeing of regional stability. He emphasized that all the above are built on a close partnership within the framework of membership in the EU and NATO.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky underscored that Hungary is committed to the funding of Central European defence industry from EU resources in the right proportion, which strengthens the technological independence and competitiveness of the region. As he said, the Hungarian–Croatian cooperation also concerns the standardization of military equipment and the joint infrastructural developments serving military mobility.

He added that in recent years, Hungary laid great emphasis on the development of its defence industry, in which it made good use of the Croatian experiences as well. During his two-day visit to Croatia, the Hungarian minister of defence went to see several Croatian defence industry facilities as well.

Speaking about the topics of discussion, the minister also mentioned the war in Ukraine, noting that Hungary continues standing on the side of peace, and trusts in a diplomatic settlement to be brokered by the United States as soon as possible. He added that to Hungary, the stability of the Western Balkans is a prioritized strategic interest, and that is why the Hungarian Defence Forces have been assuming an outstanding role in KFOR- and EUFOR-led operations since the beginnings.

“Today, we are partners as two independent NATO and EU member states, and are working to strengthen our bilateral defence cooperation, especially when it comes to trade and bolstering our defence industries. On Monday and Tuesday, we took major steps forward in this regard” – said Croatian Defence Minister Ivan Anušic.