On Tuesday, February 16, the head of the Ministry of National Defense held a meeting with the Hungarian Minister of Defense. The topics for discussion were focused on military cooperation, both bilateral and within the Visegrad Group, as well as on further strengthening security in the region. At the meeting both sides signed, the "Bilateral Cooperation Plan 2021” that will allow for better coordination of common efforts in the area of ​​training and defense.

During the visit to Hungary, Minister Błaszczak held a meeting also with soldiers serving in the Multinational Division Headquarters for Central and Eastern Europe. - I declared full collaborative approach. In a few weeks, the commander of the Territorial Defense Forces will pay a visit to Hungary. We are open to share experiences from the process of creating and commanding the Territorial Defense Forces - underlined Minister Mariusz Błaszczak after the meeting.

The head of the MoND highlighted that security in the region was an important topic discussed during the meeting. – It is crucial for Poland and Hungary to share a convergent view on NATO and EU defence. Certainly, it is facilitated by the cooperation within the Visegrad Group, which is currently chaired by Poland. Tangible results of Visegrad cooperation are of the essence, such as strengthening the interoperability of our armed forces, or common development of capabilities, exemplified by the close Polish-Hungarian cooperation within the United Nations and the mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Special forces from both countries also operate closely together - emphasized Minister Błaszczak.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense informed that the discussion covered also experiences of the army in fighting against the coronavirus.

During the visit to Budapest, Minister Mariusz Błaszczak presented the distinctions to Col. K. Vilmos, the director of the Museum of Military History and the directors of the Aviation Museum in Szolnok, K. Ákos and Tomasz Jaskólski, and appreciated their so far involvement that contributes to the development of good relations in the field of Polish and Hungarian museology. Since 2019, on the basis of the bilateral agreement on the exchange of experiences, the Polish Army Museum has been cooperating with the Hungarian Museum of Military History in museology and military history domain.

During the visit to the Hungarian Ministry of Defense, Minister Mariusz Błaszczak was awarded a commemorative medal by the Minister T. Benkő for strengthening military cooperation between Poland and Hungary. - I would like to thank the Minister, and at the same time congratulate him on several years of experience in cooperation with Hungary. I appreciate his willingness to share experiences from the process of creating the Territorial Defense Forces, as well as for the declaration that Poland will support Hungary in the training process e.g. for crews of Leopard tanks – expresses Minister T. Benkő.

On Tuesday, the head of the Ministry of National Defense held a meeting also with the management of the Polish Institute in Budapest.

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The Visegrad Group, established in February 15, 1991, is one of the lead informal forms of cooperation between Central European countries. These are Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The primary goal of the Group was to support each other on the way to the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. Currently, cooperation takes place on many levels, internally, as well as within the EU and other international organizations. Since July 1, 2020, Poland has been chairing the V4 and after June 30 this year, the presidency will be handed over to Hungary.