In its first year of NATO membership, Hungary has already fully participated in the alliance's institutions and has significantly advanced to becoming a member of full merit.

In its first year of NATO membership, Hungary has already fully participated in the alliance's institutions and has significantly advanced to becoming a member of full merit, said Defense Minister Janos Szabo in Budapest at the annual conference of NATO's Southern European region, which is discussing security investment programs. Representatives of the Southern European region, including about 140 specialists from Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Hungary, are attending the meeting organized by the Hungarian Defense Ministry. In his welcoming address, Szabo emphasized that Hungary has a vested interest in implementing the security investment program, particularly in developing the radar air-defense system. Brig-Gen Zoltan Szenes, deputy chief of staff for logistics to the NATO Southern European Allied Regional Command, also spoke, noting that not only had countries from the region come to the conference, but that the invitation had also been accepted by three members of the Partnership for Peace, Austria, Uzbekistan and Romania. In his view, this suggests a major amount of interest in one of NATO's newest members, Hungary.