Favorable Hungarian cooperation with the USA

Konrad Wysocki, Gazeta Polska Codziennie

Favorable Hungarian cooperation with the USA

During the last years of Donald Trump's presidency, the cooperation between Washington and Budapest became closer in many strategic areas. Following the example of other countries in the region, the Hungarians decided to purchase American weapons, including air defense missile systems. The mutual political relations of the two countries also developed much more favorably than before.

The Budapest government has repeatedly explained that Donald Trump, as the president of the United States of America, has become a great friend of the Hungarian nation. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that Viktor Orbán officially assured Trump of his support before the American presidential election in November. "We are well aware of the foreign policy of the American democratic governments based on moral imperialism. We didn't like it, we don't ask for a repeat," declared the Hungarian Prime Minister, clearly expressing who he would like to see in the White House in the coming years.

In all likelihood, the local Supreme Court will decide who won the presidential race in the United States, but we can already say that it was Trump who raised diplomatic relations with Budapest to a higher level than ever before. This is proven not only by words and political gestures (e.g. the first visit by a Hungarian politician to the White House after ten years - Donald Trump hosted Viktor Orbán last May), but also by specific decisions affecting the economic, commercial and defense sectors. The Hungarian Prime Minister said in an interview that in recent years, i.e. during the time of Donald Trump's office, mutual trade has increased by approximately 20 percent. Viktor Orbán reminded that more than 1.5 thousand American companies, most of them at the forefront of the world, operate in Hungary. Friendly relations were also demonstrated by the farewell address of the departing American ambassador to Budapest, David Cornstein. At the end of October, President János Áder awarded the American diplomat the Central Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit with a star. During the ceremony, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that with the election of Trump and the beginning of Cornstein's diplomatic service, relations between the two countries became closer.

Budapest also strengthened its cooperation with the United States from a military point of view. In August of this year, both countries informed that an agreement had been reached that Hungary would purchase the Norwegian-American NASAMS 2 air defense missile system. The contract was signed on November 30, and its value is estimated at 410 million euros. By 2023, Hungary will have modern military technology, which will replace the previous Soviet solutions used by the Hungarian army in the field of air defense. Within the framework of the defense agreement, Hungary also plans to acquire AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The Americans have authorized the sale of 240 missiles, 60 of which will be equipped with a larger engine and an improved control system. The new military equipment, along with the logistics components and radar stations, will be sent to the MH 12th Air Defense Missile Regiment in Győr. The Budapest government emphasized that this is currently the best air defense system manufactured in the world, thanks to which the country's security will be significantly improved. In addition, according to the plans, by 2023, Hungary wants to achieve the defense budget minimum of at least 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) proposed by NATO and the United States of America.