The Hungarian-German cooperation in the military industry started earlier, which gives it a good chance of lasting, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday in Zalaegerszeg.
In his speech at the ceremonial handing over of the building and completed modules of the Lynx combat vehicle factory in Zalaegerszeg, the Prime Minister emphasized: Hungarians know exactly that the best war is one that is avoided.
"We learned from Bismarck at the end of the 19th century that the stronger we are, the smaller the chance of war." And the iron chancellor was right: the stronger we are, the less chance we have of getting involved in a war, said Viktor Orbán.
He added: therefore, "when we build an army", then "of course we are preparing for the worst, but we are actually opening the way for a favorable future".
Viktor Orbán recalled: he had already said that security would be the most important sector in this decade. And the most important task in this decade is to "have a military force that is able to defend Hungary, that can assert Hungarian interests, and that can be deployed at any time in Hungary, but also outside of it if necessary," he declared.
He said: Hungary needs the technological level that surpasses anything before, which is partly symbolized "by the ZalaZONE next door, and here by this weapons factory".
He touched on it: German-Hungarian relations are "in a mess", but "we hope that they will smooth out now". The political relations are complicated, but the economic relations are excellent, and now it seems that the political support will also be behind the strongest possible economic cooperation.
He sees this as important for Hungary, not only because Germany is strong, but also because "the Hungarians can cooperate with the Germans."
According to the prime minister, the recently handed over factory has become the new standard for the Hungarian army, because "we need soldiers as good as our equipment." This is a big task for the current Hungarian government and Hungary in the next ten years, he pointed out.
He also talked about how "first you buy, then you realize you'd be better off making" and "we're in that phase now." But "we don't want to stop here", he said, it would be good if development, testing, and the training of the best engineers and skilled workers were carried out jointly with "our German friends".
He continued: in recent months, one of the most important decisions for the future of Europe was made by the German government as a result of the Ukrainian-Russian war. This could not have been an easy decision, since it was about the rearmament of Germany, but after the war broke out and "it was clear that the peace and security of Europe could not be guaranteed without the Germans", the big change took place and the German military industry became one of the most important industries he explained.
He said: this is the new reality, which "offers us a huge opportunity". However, the Hungarian-German cooperation started when this industry was "even more of a tolerated industry", and this gives a good chance for the cooperation to last, he said. The Prime Minister thanked everyone whose work made the factory possible.
"Don't stay home next week on Sunday!" Viktor Orbán concluded his words.
Armin Papperger, the president of Rheinmetall, recalled that they first negotiated with the Hungarian government three and a half years ago, and "very clear structures were outlined". During the discussions with Viktor Orbán, it was stated that our peoples and countries must be protected, and that this requires defense capability and national sovereignty.
Source and full article: magyarhirlap.hu
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