Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said Hungary and Turkey are ramping up their strategic partnership in defense innovation dating from 2023.

Speaking in Ankara on Monday, after the first meeting of the Hungarian-Turkish working group for defense innovation, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Turkey's minister for industry and technology, jointly opened the new phase of cooperation in Ankara.

In his speech, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky said sharing new technologies and solutions opened new opportunities in defense cooperation. Multiyear cooperation is also planned between the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey and Hungary's Defense Innovation Defense Research Centre, aiming to promote new opportunities in education and development, he said.

"We are open to deepening cooperation to satisfy the short-term needs of the Hungarian Armed Forces as well as ensuring long-term opportunities for R and D," he said.

Also meeting counterpart Yasar Guler, Szalay-Bobrovniczky afterwards called Turkey a partner and "an especially important ally" within NATO.

"Our countries are working together on important issues such as the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), which is nearing full operations, and NATO's Forward Land Force (FLF) in Hungary," he said.

"Meanwhile, Hungary and Turkey are using every means at their disposal to ensure the stability of the Western Balkans. Our efforts are shown by the fact that our troops serve together in NATO's Kosovo and the European Union's Bosnia mission," he said.

Hungary also appreciates Turkey's efforts to combat terrorism, he said, adding that this was vital to maintaining regional stability and European security.