On the last day of his US visit, Defence Minister István Simicskó held talks with commander of US Central Command Joseph Votel and USSOCOM Chief of Staff Marcus Hicks in Tampa, Florida.

Simicskó told his negotiating partners that “we greatly appreciate the logistics support provided by the US army to help Hungary’s participation in missions in Iraq and also in Afghanistan,” the statement said. He added that Hungary will continue its participation as long as it is needed, in line with NATO’s “in together, out together” principle.

The stability of Afghanistan is especially important to Hungary because Afghanistan is a main source of migration to Europe, Simicskó said.

Votel said it is important to further develop cooperation and expressed appreciation of the Hungarian soldiers’ participation in missions, the statement added.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Máthé Zoltán