Czech Defense Minister Lubomir Metnar speaks during a press conference in Prague, the Czech Republic, on June 24, 2020. Defense ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and deputy defense minister of Poland, met here Wednesday to discuss mutual defense alliance before the handover of the group's presidency from the Czech Republic to Poland. (Photo by Dana Kesnerova/Xinhua)
PRAGUE, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The defense ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4), namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, met here Wednesday to discuss mutual defense alliance before the handover of the group's presidency from Czech to Poland , the Czech Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
The Czech Republic presides over the V4 between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. On July 1, Poland will take over the annual presidency of the group.
Czech Defense Minister Lubomir Metnar said that the V4 armies could purchase small weapons ammunition together in a Czech-led initiative.
"Our ambition is to complete this agreement by the end of this year and sign a contract for these purchases," Metnar said.
Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad also expressed a desire for the countries to move together with the modernization of other heavy equipment, such as tanks, according to the statement.
"It is time for us to really move on to concrete steps... I believe that we can coordinate the modernization projects that our states are waiting for and thus help the defense industries of our countries," said Nad.
The ministers also discussed their involvement in foreign missions, especially with a focus on the Baltics and Africa.
