“Strengthening of defence capabilities is our shared interest”

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky pointed out that Hungary firmly rejects the political pressure being exerted by Ukraine against Hungary through halting deliveries on the Druzhba oil pipeline on grounds that cannot be explained by technical reasons, and through interfering in Hungarian elections.

He added that with regard to the war in Ukraine, Hungary stands on the side of peace and supports a diplomatic solution, including U.S. peace efforts, and welcomes the fact that Albania holds a similar position on this matter.

The minister stressed that the Western Balkans are of crucial significance to Hungary from historical, economic, and migrational aspects. The overall stability and security of the region are of paramount importance to us, he stated.

He added that for this reason, Hungary supports the EU integration of Western Balkan states in all cases, and expressed appreciation for the work Albania has carried out in recent years, which has brought the country “to the threshold of accession”.

The minister highlighted that peace is a fundamental value that we must maintain unconditionally and stick to it for the sake of the next generation. As he noted, Hungary also contributes in practical terms to the stability of the Western Balkans: it is a committed supporter of NATO’s largest land operation, the KFOR mission in Kosovo, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina it supports peace and stability within the framework of EUFOR’s Operation Althea.

He noted that from this March, the EUFOR mission will have a Hungarian deputy commander. He also pointed out that the security situation of Central Eastern Europe and that of the Western Balkans are closely interconnected; therefore, strengthening defence capabilities is a shared interest. He said that within the framework of NATO, Hungary has been developing its defence relations with all its Balkan allies and partners, and welcomes Albania’s efforts to modernize its defence sector and align with NATO standards, as this strengthens the security of the Alliance as a whole.

He highlighted that meeting NATO capability targets and exchanging the lessons learned in force development are important areas for both Albania and Hungary, and that the two delegations reached agreement on these issues during the discussions.

Albanian Defence Minister Pirro Vengu thanked the Hungarian Defence Forces for their assistance in containing last year’s wildfires.

He also stated that Albania is at the forefront of the European integration process and has made significant progress toward achieving accession as soon as possible.

He said that Albania highly appreciates and uses as a reference Hungary’s development and progress in the field of defence, adding that he trusts that a close relationship can be established with the Hungarian side in the interest of further cooperation. He also thanked Hungary and its representatives for clearly and unequivocally standing up for the security of the region and contributing to the maintenance of peace.

At the event, the bilateral cooperation plan between Albania and Hungary was signed by Defence Policy Director Gjergji Methoxha and MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy László Hajnik. The agreement provides a framework for expanding the exchange of lessons learned between the Hungarian Defence Forces and the Albanian Armed Forces.

In order to promote innovation in the field of security and defence, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Lorenc Çala, Director of the Albanian Security and Defense Innovation Center, and Gergely Németh, Chief Executive Officer of the Hungarian Defence Innovation Research Institute Nonprofit Ltd. (VIKI). This agreement paves the way for closer cooperation between the defence research and development players of the two countries.