Vucic Says Serbia, Hungary will nearly Double Up On Joint Military Activities in 2025

Military helicopter (BETAPHOTO/DEFENSE MINISTRY/EV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on April 1 said that Serbia and Hungary would have 79 joint military activities this year, noting that strategic defense collaboration as one of the most important aspects of comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries.

“Out of all the countries in the region, and by the number and importance of joint activities, Serbia’s has had most intense and most developed collaboration in the field of defense with Hungary. For this year, we have agreed to hold the largest number of joint activities so far - 79, almost double against 2023, when we had 48 such activities,” Vucic said after meeting Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

Earlier on April 1 in Belgrade, Serbian and Hungarian defense ministers, Bratislav Gasic and Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, signed an Agreement on Strategic Cooperation in the Field of Defense, in the presence of Vucic. Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the document would contribute to strengthening cooperation in the Western Balkans. Vucic said that this document had formalized an agreement on strategic defense cooperation achieved in 2023.

“These 79 activities include many things which are important to us. From joint activities, trainings and exercises, the defense industry, peace-keeping missions, cybersecurity, military education, and military medicine, to helicopter exercises,” Vucic said.

This document was signed in the wake of the declaration on defense and security, signed between Croatia, Albania and Kosovo, which Vucic has described as the beginning of an arms race in the region.