Diplomacy & Trade 2020 August

AUGUST 2020 HUF 1710

THE DAWN OF A NEW WORLD ORDER

EUR 6

…THAT HAS NEVER MATERIALIZED: THE FIRST GULF WAR STARTED THIRTY YEARS AGO THIS AUGUST

SEE ANALYSIS ON page 08

Switzerland

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FOCUS

As an international pioneer of environment protection, international solidarity and peace promotion, Switzerland propagates these core values in Hungary through the presence of Swiss enterprises and Swisscham Hungary, the bilateral chamber operating in the country, says Peter Burkhard, Swiss Ambassador to Hungary. The Ambassador’s interview is the leading article of the Swiss Focus prepared on the 25th anniversary of the Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. see articles on pages 10-24

Creating a ‘Bombastic’ theme

Placido Domingo Jr. has been in the Hungarian capital working on his new composition. As he announced on social media this July, he had a “fantastic recording session for the Virtuózok main theme!” The theme for the Hungariandeveloped classical music talent show was composed by the younger Domingo himself and orchestrated by maestro Sergio Kuhlmann. Diplomacy&Trade caught up with the composer to talk about his work in Budapest and the recognition of the authors of musical pieces. see article on page 28

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The international action taken against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq thirty years ago carried the promise of a ‘new world order’. However, as you read in this month’s international analysis, the First Gulf War, that enjoyed rare uniform support of the UN Security Council, seems to have been too optimistic in the expectation that international relations would be subject to the rule of law.

Our special Focus section features Switzerland as the Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2020 with a series of events throughout the year – many of which have been postponed due to the pandemic. In an extensive interview, the Swiss ambassador to Hungary, Peter Burkhard emphasizes multiple aspects of successful bilateral relations. We also talk to the Chamber’s leaders and highlight some of the numerous Swiss companies operating in Hungary.

Norwegian ambassador Olav Berstad is leaving his posting in Budapest after close to four years. In this month’s WittyLeaks article, he not only looks back on his tenure here but also the four decades of his diplomatic career, and underscores “dialogue, knowledge and partnership over theory and passion” as his country’s attitude to Norwegian-Hungarian relations.

Our culture page carries an interview with composer Placido Domingo Jr. who has been in Budapest working on a new composition for the Hungarian-developed classical music talent show ‘Virtuosos’. In addition to that, he also talks about working for, and with, stars like Luciano Pavarotti and Michael Bolton.

The gastronomy page presents an interview with Slovenian chef Uroš Štefelin about the ‘starry future’ of gastronomy in his country. Worth noting is his advice to culinary establishments in the Hungarian countryside. You can also read about two ‘cool’ summer topics: sparkling wines and the history of ice-cream.

Enjoy the vacation season and stay safe!

Peter Freed PUBLISHER

Interview with a Slovenian Michelin star chef

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AND DON’T FORGET

www.dteurope.com

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Event guide to the Hungarian capital

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­­ contents 05 ON THE RECORD 06-07 COMPANY BRIEFS 08 ANALYSIS

monthly in print - daily on the web

Sparkle in the summer in Etyek!

Thirty years after the First Gulf War 09 BUSINESS Real estate market 10-24 SWISS FOCUS Interview with Ambassador Peter Burkhard; Swisscham; Carl Lutz year; Eisberg; Givaudan; Philip Morris; Nestlé; Stadler; Sika; Btech 25 SOCIETY

26 WITTYLEAKS by the Ambassador of

Norway 27 WHAT’S ON Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest 28 CULTURE Placido Domingo Jr. composes TV show theme in Budapest 29 WINE Sparkling wines from Etyek 30-31 GASTRONOMY Michelin star chef from Slovenia; The history of ice cream

PUBLISHER: Peter Freed EDITOR: Sándor Laczkó COPY EDITOR: Joyce Freed PHOTO EDITOR: Dávid Harangozó SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR: Tamás Varga DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Tibor Ocsenás ADMINISTRATION: Éva Madarász CONTRIBUTORS: Sándor Laczkó, Edith Balázs, Tamás Magyarics, Réka A. Francisck, Olav Berstad PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: depositphotos.com (Cover), László Szelényi, Márton Mónus, Florent Gooden/DPPI, Marie-Lan Nguyen, depositphotos.com, masterplast.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOCUS - COMING SOON

hu,Gallicoop, inicial.hu, JYSK, Magyar Suzuki Corporation Ltd., e77.hu, Yoav Dothan/Wikimedia, D&T Archive, Gábor Ancsin, Zultzer, eisberg.hu, Szilvia Micheller/ SMIC, Philip Morris International, Nestlé, Attila Bartha, Attila Vörös, Zoltán Író, Lilla Lendvai/Mexican Embassy Budapest, Embassy of Norway, Live Nation, Invisible Exhibition, Domonkos Orbán/ODPictures, Museum of Fine Arts - Hungarian National Gallery, Thomaz Farkas EstateInstituto Moreira, Theo O. Krath, David Licen/ info@artnetik.si, National Confederate of Hungarian Confectioner, MTI Photos: Zoltán Máthé, Noémi Bruzák

Diplomacy&Trade is preparing a special Focus section on relations between the Republic of Korea and Hungary in recognition of Korea’s National Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) is coming up. The Republic of Korea has recently become the largest source country of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Hungary, and the volume of the Korean FDI in Hungary and that of the Hungarian exports to the Republic of Korea have been on the rise since 2014. The Korean ambassador to Hungary, Choe Kyoo Sik highlights some of the aspects of successful bilateral relations. The Focus will also include the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Korean Cultural Center, the Incheon Smart City, remembrances of the sightseeing boat tragedy and the activities of Korean firms in Hungary.

Copyright 2004-2020 DUAX Kft., all rights reserved | ISSN 1589-8075 This magazine is produced by DUAX Kft. The opinions published in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DUAX Kft.

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on the record

NEW PRESIDENT AT THE HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

GOVERNMENT CANCELS AUGUST 20 CELEBRATIONS

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DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, DAVID LICEN/INFO@ARTNETIK.SI, THEO O. KRATH, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

All public events scheduled for the August 20 national holiday in Budapest have been canceled in light of coronavirus protection measures. The events would have included an air show and the traditional fireworks in the evening. As the Minister heading the Prime Minister's Office, Gergely Gulyás said, large gatherings increase the risk of intensifying the spread of the coronavirus. He expressed regret over the cancellation, adding that materials already purchased for the festivities would be used next year.

The usual oath-taking ceremony of graduate military officers will go ahead, he added. He also noted that the number of active coronavirus infections in Hungary is gradually dropping, and was of the view that Hungary is one of the safest and most protected countries against the virus in the region.

SLIGHT INCREASE IN ECONOMIC SENTIMENT INDEX After a shock-like fall in the outlook for domestic economic agents in April, there was a significant positive correction in May and June, according to GKI’s economic sentiment index.

The index, prepared by the economic research institute GKI, rose only slightly in July, by two points, as a combined result of improving expectations of consumers and business services, and stagnant expectations of other sectors. The consumer confidence index rose by 6 points in July and the business index rose by one point compared to June.

The value of the business confidence index in July corresponded to its level at the beginning of 2013. The index report says that “industry is having a hard time restarting. Its confidence index remained essentially unchanged in July compared the previous month. Although the assessment of the stock of orders improved, the outlook for production deteriorated. Construction expectations did not change significantly, either. The assessment of construction output in the preceding quarter and that of orders also became slightly worse. The trade confidence index improved only within the statistical margin of error. Although the assessment of sales position and inventory improved, that of expected orders deteriorated. Among services, the assessment of the overall business performance of the recent period and that of sales expectations in the coming months also moved in a positive direction.” w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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Neurobiologist Dr. Tamás Freund was elected President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences following a 24hour voting process in early July. The academician replaces László Lovász, who resigned after six years at the head of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, founded in 1825 by Count István Széchenyi.

The post of Secretary General will be filled by civil engineer László Péter Kollár while the Deputy Secretary General will be immunologist Anna Erdei in the next three-year term. The leaders of the Academy may be re-elected once after their term of office expires.

Freund's predecessor, world renowned mathematician László Lovász said he could not ensure that MTA's research institute network could operate independently following the government's decision to separate them from the Academy.

UPCOMING NATIONAL DAYS August 1 6 9 14 15 15 17 20 24 25 27 29 31 September 2 7 8 16 18 21 21 23

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‘LEAVEN OF THE CITY’ THANKING THE PEOPLE OF BUDAPEST A new colorful mural decorates the façade of the fire brigade station on Károly körút in downtown Budapest thanking the people of the capital for their togetherness.

"We wanted to reflect on the epidemic sweeping around the world with a work of art that strengthens our togetherness, our community in Budapest, so at our request, the work of artist Viktória Hitka was painted on the wall of the Fifth District Fire Brigade by the Colorful City Group to remind us all of our lives together," the Budapest City Branding Nonprofit Ltd. (BVA) said in a social media message.

The title of the work of art, addressed to the citizens of the capital, says "You are the leaven of the city."

BVA pointed out in a statement that the epidemiological situation had the greatest impact on metropolitan life, generating the most tensions here, both at the individual and social level. The capital's urban image company wanted to use the image to display a message of solidarity and belonging.

As they wrote, the painting entitled 'Even a leaven can be a bridge’ now has a particularly important message, as the city has come together, the inhabitants have survived the past months together. The epidemic united generations, brought together neighbors, city dwellers in need of help, and new communities and groups were formed and friendships were forged.

The work, painted by artists from the Colorful City Group on a 420-square-meter wall surface using about 180 liters of paint, was completed in 12 days.

LEWIS HAMILTON TAKES 8TH HUNGARIAN F1 GP TITLE

Defending champion and six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, British driver of the Mercedes team, won the 35th Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix held without spectators mid-July at the Hungaroring (just east of Budapest), where he triumphed for the 8th time in his career.

This was the 35-year-old driver’s second win this year and his 86th race victory in his career, leaving him with just five wins behind seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 successes. Hamilton has now set another Schumacher record at the Hungaroring circuit, as previously only the legendary German driver has managed to win eight times on the same track – in Magny-Cours, France.

Behind Hamilton, the Dutch Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen finished second, with the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) coming in third. With his success, Hamilton overtook Bottas at the top of this year's driver race.

HUNGARIAN 'IMMORTAL ATHLETES' ELECT NEW PRESIDENT Two-time Olympic champion epée fencer Tímea Nagy was elected president of the Association of Immortal Hungarian Athletes at the end of July. The convening of the organization’s General Assembly was necessary due to the death of the previous president, György Kárpáti, a three-time Olympic champion water polo player, in June. The sole candidate, Tímea Nagy, was unanimously elected. “When I was about to undertake the nomination for the presidency, I asked to write a letter to each member that I would only nominate myself if there was no other candidate, because I did not want to run for president against someone but for the Association. Since no one else applied and the members supported me, I was glad to say yes to the invitation,” she said.

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­company briefs MASTERPLAST ACQUIRES FIDELIS BAU

The Hungarian construction material firm MASTERPLAST Co. Ltd. has informed investors at the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange that it acquired the 100% share in Fidelis BAU Ltd. According to a share purchase agreement signed on July 1, 2020, the purchase price of the share consists of a fixed amount of HUF 100,000,000, and a variable component depending on the balance sheet of Fidelis BAU Ltd. for the first half of 2020, with purchase price in total not to exceed HUF 120 million. The planned return on the acquisition is seven years.

Fidelis BAU Ltd., founded in 2002, is a manufacturer of 'Thermobeton', a thermal insulation lightweight concrete made from recycled raw materials, and a former supplier of the Masterplast Group. Fidelis BAU Ltd. has the necessary official permits for the collection, transport and processing of polystyrene waste, as well as the production technology.

With the acquisition of Fidelis BAU Ltd., the production technology required for the recycling of polystyrene waste and all official permits are available within the Masterplast Group, the Masterplast Group implements a circular production system dubbed the 'Hungarocell Green Program'.

AUTOWALLIS ACQUIRES INICIÁL AUTÓHÁZ

SOLAR PANEL PARK INSTALLED AT FOOD PROCESSING PLANT

Gallicoop Turkey Processing Co. Ltd., in Szarvas, E Hungary, will construct a 1.2 megawatt solar panel park from an investment of HUF 582 million (EUR 1.65 million). HUF 282 million, close to half of the amount invested, will be provided from public funds by the Hungarian government. The project will enable the company to save HUF 34-40 million (EUR 100-115,000) annually in electricity costs, in addition to which it will be procuring machinery with which it hopes to increase the annual production of its breaded products to ten thousand tons”, the company’s President and CEO István Erdélyi said.

Gallicoop Zrt., which boasts a 30-year history, is Hungary’s largest closedsystem turkey meat producing facility, producing 8,000 tons of meat products and 8,000 tons of breaded products a year, and processing an annual 40,000 tons of turkey. Since 1994, the company has spent over HUF 16 billion (currently EUR 45.4 million) on development, including the expansion of its breading plant, the construction of cold storage units and incubators, and the establishment of a packaging center with an investment of HUF 1.7 billion (EUR 4.83 million). The company provides a living to over two thousand employees over the whole integration,” he added.

“In addition to domestic sales, the company exports an annual HUF 13 billion (EUR 36.9 million) in products to practically every part of Europe, as well as to Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. In 2019, the company realized HUF 35.9 billion (EUR 102 million) in turnover and after-tax profits of HUF 1.9 billion (EUR 5.4 million)”, the CEO told reporters. He added that export turnover has fallen drastically as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but the company hopes its usual markets will begin to pick up again from the second half of July.

At the event to launch the latest investment project, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called Gallicoop Turkey Processing Co. Ltd. one of the flagships of the Hungarian food industry, boasting 5.5% of all the poultry (and 40% of all turkeys) slaughtered in Hungary. The Minister pointed out that Hungary is the world’s tenth largest exporter of poultry, adding that production value within the food industry, which provides jobs for 142,000 people, increased by 15% during the first six months of the year.

As a new step in the cooperation established last year with Iniciál Group, an entity with 25 years of experiences in car trade, AutoWallis acquires 40% stake of Iniciál Autóház Ltd., the dominant car dealer in the region of West Hungary, engaged in selling and servicing seven car brands.

Zsolt Taródy, the founder of the Iniciál Autóház Ltd. (with more than 115 employees as the present headcount) will remain the managing director of the company that last year reported HUF 19.3 billion revenue, whereas that of AutoWallis was HUF 75.3 billion.

AutoWallis also plans to acquire a further 20% business share in Iniciál from the founder’s family, thus capturing a total 60% share in the company, provided that the Hungarian Competition Authority approves the acquisition following the current transaction.

Referring to the transaction, AutoWallis CEO Gábor Ormosy pointed out that as a result of this step, the premium brands sold by the Group members may be extended with new fleet brands taking dominant position. All these actions fit well to the strategy announced a year ago, aiming to double the company’s 2018 revenue by 2024 through organic channels and other acquisitions. The CEO added that in addition to increasing the number of traded brands, the agreement concluded with Iniciál Group last year and the recently announced acquisition will enable AutoWallis to also implement another key strategic goal of the Group, that is, not only will its international market share increase, but also the number of points of sales of the Group in Hungary.

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Danish home furnishing store chain JYSK is assisting the Semmelweis Hospital in Kiskunhalas, which is said to be of key importance in the coronavirus epidemic, with a product donation worth more than HUF 11 million.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, JYSK has been continuously supporting hospitals fighting the epidemic with product donations in almost every country where it is present, the company says. In Hungary, too, it has already helped with product donations in areas where there are JYSK stores.

“A few weeks ago – even in the darker phase of the coronavirus epidemic – when we opened our latest JYSK store in Kiskunhalas, we made an offer to the town and hospital management that we were ready to support the hospital with bedding.

They welcomed JYSK products, and in addition to bedding, we were happy to donate a number of furniture and home furnishings to the medical hotel, which makes rest for the professionals fighting the coronavirus epidemic more comfortable,” JYSK Country Manager Sándor Szimeiszter said.

The hospital's Director General Chief Physician Szabolcs Szepesvári said they were grateful for the supportive cooperation and offer of the JYSK department store. With the donation, they can decorate the interior of the renovated doctor's apartments in high quality and Scandinavian style, "so that we can provide a suitable environment for young colleagues coming to our hospital."

Kiskunhalas Mayor Róbert Fülöp believes that this donation is a good example of the overall social cohesion that has characterized the recent months, and it is also important for businesses to improve the living and working conditions of Semmelweis Hospital and its employees.

JYSK's donation consists of 150 blankets, 150 pillows, 150 bedding sets as well as complete equipment for eight medical apartments (sofa beds, armchairs, wardrobes, dining room furniture, office furniture and home accessories).

MASTERPLAST.HU, GALLICOOP, INICIAL.HU, JYSK

JYSK DONATES HOME FURNISHING ITEMS TO HOSPITAL

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c­ ompany briefs VODAFONE ORGANIZES HOME OFFICE WORK

MAGYAR SUZUKI: 3.5 MILLION VEHICLES PRODUCED 3.5 million Suzuki models have been manufactured in the last 30 years at the Esztergom (NW of Budapest) plant of the Japanese company’s Hungarian subsidiary – and sold to people in 123 countries. The international automotive company has come a long way in Hungary from its 1991’s beginnings to its present jubilee. Suzuki, the first company to bring car production back to Hungary after half a century, is the 10th largest company in the country for today.

The 3.5 millionth car Suzuki produced in the Esztergom factory was a hybrid version from the audience-favorite Vitara model. Vitara and SX4 S-CROSS models equipped with the new 48V ISG technology are produced exclusively for the European Union countries including Hungary in 2020. The majority of vehicles made in Esztergom were Vitaras, followed by SX4 S-CROSS-es, with first-generation Swifts – Suzuki’s first model ‘Made in Hungary’ – coming in third. In addition to domestic sales, the company served a total of 123 export markets last year with about 180,000 vehicles produced. 88% of the total production was for export. "Such a milestone is always a great celebration for us, and all our employees have a role to play in this success. In addition, we have several colleagues who have been involved in the production of all the 3.5 million Suzukis, either working by the production line or in the office,” Abe Yoshinobu, managing director of Magyar Suzuki Corporation said on the occasion of the jubilee. Magyar Suzuki produced 1,000 vehicles in 1992, and today, an average of approximately 700 cars rolls off the production line in two shifts per day.

Hungarian-owned 77 Elektronika Ltd., a company exporting self-developed medical diagnostic devices to more than 100 countries, says it increased its foreign market turnover by HUF 24.5 billion last year.

According to public company data, the firm's net sales revenue was HUF 31.2 billion in 2019 after HUF 30.7 billion in the previous year. The company's after tax profit

The supermarket chain Lidl will construct a new logistics center in Hungary in the framework of a HUF 35 billion (EUR 98.8 million) investment project for which the government is providing HUF 1.2 billion (EUR 3.39 million) in non-returnable investment promotion funding. With this project, the company will create 400 new workplaces.

Chairman of the Board at Lidl Hungary, Jenő Grósz told reporters that the new facility in the Pest County town of Ecser will be the company’s fourth logistics center in Hungary, and according to plan, the 62-thousand-square-meter facility, which is much larger than the company’s existing warehouse units, will be ready by November 2021.

The supermarket chain appeared in Hungary in 2004, and 16 years later, it operates 183 stores and three logistics centers. It is now the second largest retail chain in the country with respect to annual turnover. The company employs over 7,000 people, making it the 16th largest employer of Hungarians in Hungary.

The Chairman highlighted the program launched by the company in 2013 for Hungarian suppliers. As he explained, Lidl’s aim with the program is to support the development and international competitiveness of Hungarian farmers and the Hungarian economy. The company currently cooperates with 490 Hungarian suppliers and the ratio of Hungarian goods in Lidl supermarkets is almost 60%. With relation to the export of Hungarian products, he said that Lidl distributes some 30% of total Hungarian bottled wine exports, making the company the country’s largest wine exporter.

with Hungarian laboratorie. According to the announcement, increased from HUF 4.47 billion in the previous year to HUF 4.53 Sándor Zettwitz, managing owner of 77 Elektronika, said that billion in 2019. in the last three months, orders for more than 70 automatic The company’s statement stresses that it will turn an average of and semi-automatic devices have been received from their 6-7% of its revenue back into the development of new products and Russian partners. A significant proportion of epidemic hospitals technologies each year. set up in the country due to the virus will be equipped with The sales of 77 Elektronika, which employs over 740 people, 77 Electronics-based automatic urine testers in the coming including more than 120 development engineers, at its factories in months.

Budapest and Balatonfüred, are primarily urine analysis automation He added that a long-term agreement is in sight between 77 systems based on UriSed technology, which gives the company Elektronika Ltd. and a market-leading international company, a significant global market share. Its largest markets are still which will enable the sale of hundreds of automatic sediment the European Union, the United States, China, Brazil and the Far 11:22:30 testing devices in China in the coming years.

East with Russian epidemiological hospitals also Diplomacy-n-Trade.ai to be equipped 1 2017. 02. 27.

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INCREASING EXPORTS AT 77 ELEKTRONIKA

Vodafone Hungary is one of the first companies to switch to permanent remote working. As a unique approach in Hungary, since July this year, Vodafone Hungary is offering customer service staff the opportunity to work from home permanently. Teleworking has been part of ‘business-as-usual’ for the company; however, experience from recent months has shown that this approach can be introduced in areas such as customer service, where it had been unthinkable before. The company offers the option of continuing to work from home even after the epidemic, to colleagues enrolling in the program; thus, taking a pioneering role in the development of innovative, digital work solutions.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced millions of employees around the world to work from home. In mid-March, Vodafone ordered all its staff working in the company’s Budapest offices to work from home, which did not cause any disruption in the company's life, as home office had been part of the daily routine for years. At the same time, there are staff members for whom, due to the nature of their work, it would have been previously unthinkable to work from home. In view of the pandemic, the company also reorganized the work of these colleagues in a mere 2-3 weeks, allowing almost all of them to work from home during the emergency. The rapid switch-over gave a new impetus, so Vodafone began working on making the new approach feasible and workable in the long run. In the first phase starting in early July, 50% of customer service staff had the option to work from home permanently, which the company plans to expand in the future, according to Vodafone's statement.

LIDL TO CONSTRUCT NEW LOGISTICS CENTER IN HUNGARY

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analysis

THE DAWN OF A NEW WORLD ORDER THREE DECADES HAVE PASSED SINCE THE FIRST GULF WAR

BY TAMÁS MAGYARICS

The years between 1989 and 1991 are remembered as the period of great expectations. The beginning was the collapse of the Communist systems throughout East and Central Europe, while the end was the culmination of this process with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. And, in between, 30 years ago, the international action taken against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq carried the promise of the birth of a ‘new world order’ – a rhetoric used by the U.S. administration at that time. It was practically the first time in the history of the UN Security Council that the five permanent members agreed with each other on how to handle a major international crisis, namely, the use of force to restore the status quo ante. In fact, it has turned out to be a one-off occasion up to the present time; the expectation that international relations would be subject to the rule of law seems to have been too optimistic. Instead, the world seems to be moving in the direction of non-polarity (in the words of American diplomat Richard Haass): the imagined value-based (liberal) international order has remained a wishful

thinking so far, and the raw interests of state and non-state actors have come to the forefront.

Unlikely and brief coalition It all seemed to be so nice in 1990: after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the international community was sending a strong message: changing existing borders by force would not be tolerated. The international coalition under the leadership of the U.S. to drive the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait included western democracies, Arab autocracies, former communist countries, and states from practically all over the world.

Even if the real material support of some of them was negligible, the symbolic presence of a cross-current of countries in the coalition was meant to demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law. This honeymoon was rather short-lived.

The rest of the 1990s, as well as the first two decades of the 21st century were characterized by the return of history (pace Francis Fukuyama).

An attempt to reshape the Middle East First of all, the sensible Realpolitik, infused with a portion of wilsonianism, of the Bush administration (1989-1993) first intellectually, then in reality was challenged by the

neoconservatives with their somewhat outlandish ideas of democracy export and nation-building (though state-building would have been a more appropriate term). Their one-size-fits all approach to international affairs, and their ignorance/neglect of Walter Lippmann’s warning of adjusting ends to means resulted in such failures as the attempt at reshaping the extended Middle East. The necessary and inevitable correction by cutting back of U.S. commitments globally, and/or rebalancing of U.S. power to areas which are of primary importance to the country did some damage control, but the years of the imperial overstretch in the first decade of the 21st century are likely to affect adversely the positions of the U.S. in general.

sky. True, China was taking advantage of the U.S.-led international order so long as it suited its interests, but was, and is, unwilling to play the role of Robert Zoellick’s ‘responsible stakeholder’.

In reality, she has never adopted the norms in domestic issues expected by the West. In fact, it was close to Western hubris to believe that the Chinese would play by Western rules if they think they are not in the interest of the country. What arguably happened instead was that the West has facilitated the phenomenal growth of the Chinese economy, and now what is happening is the partial transformation of Beijing’s economic and financial power into geopolitical gains from Asia through Africa and Latin America to Europe.

China’s not so hidden goal is to emerge as a peer power to the U.S. in all walks of life and, possible, to rewrite some of the international rules which are seen as disadvantageous to Beijing. China has also been busy building an alternative or parallel ’world order’ with other emerging powers which are dissatisfied, for one reason or other, with the Washington consensus in trade and economic matters, and the liberal world order in the political area.

Besides China, Russia is the other major country to try to redistribute power in the world.

Currently, it is only able to balance the U.S. indirectly by trying to undermine the Americanled alliance system, and to split the European Union, which is – after all – still the single most important partner of the U.S. along a wide spectrum from military cooperation to economic and financial interests and cultural values.

Not so responsible stakeholder The relative decline of American power in the world, of course, should be seen in the context of the rise of other power centers, foremost among them is China. At the moment, China seems to be one of the failures of the liberal internationalism as pursued by the U.S. – and the West in general.

The idea that China would become a country adjusting itself internationally and domestically to a liberal order has proved to be a pie in the

The ’new world order’ has not been realized in its original sense partly because of the rise and proliferation of non-state actors. The ’new world order’ was conceived along Westphalian lines in the first place, that is, with state actors constrained by international law and international organizations. However, a large number of non-state, sub- and supra-nation actors emerged, and the latter, including religious, financial and economic entities, tend to defy established principles and practices in pursuit of their own agenda. This fragmentation and dispersion of power was, in part, made possible by the revolution in information technology, which also enables hitherto apolitical groups of people to enter the political process, thereby adding another variable to the already crowded field of agents in international life. A Polish proverb said a few decades ago that “what is uncertain is the past, and what is certain is the future.” Its up-to-date version should read: “what is uncertain is the past, and so is the future.” What seems to be certain is the return of the ’might makes right’ approach.

We are living in a new ‘new world order’, if ’order’ is the appropriate term to use.

Tamás Magyarics is a foreign policy analyst

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Not playing by the rules

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The economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc in nearly all sectors of the Hungarian economy and the real estate market was no exception. The latest data show that the number of construction permits plummeted in the wake of the crisis and experts warn that the disappearance of foreign property buyers could also have serious implications for the sector.

BY DIPLOMACY&TRADE

The number of construction permits issued by authorities and notifications of construction intent declined by 32% in the first six months of 2020 to 12,475, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Central Statistical Office. Nearly half of new residential properties (39%) were originally planned to be built in Budapest, the figures show.

The number of dwellings to be built decreased in all community categories compared to the first half of 2019: in Budapest by 21%, in larger cities by 51%, in smaller cities by 34%, and in villages by 25%. Based on the number of new construction permits issued, a total of 5,437 residential buildings are planned to be built in the country, 27% fewer than last year. The number of planned non-residential buildings decreased by 4 percent nationwide, to 1,918.

The steepest decline was recorded in the months following the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, with the number of dwellings to be built on the basis of construction permits and notifications falling to two-thirds of last year’s number in March and just over half in April-May. The trend reversed in June, when the annual decline was 10%.

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REAL ESTATE MARKET MALAISE PANDEMIC DECIMATES NUMBER OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS, FOREIGN BUYERS ABSENT

dwellings was 40% higher than in the same period of the previous year. “The reason for the increase in the number of occupancy permits is that flats which have been sold with 5% VAT in recent years are now being completed. On the other hand, the number of new building permits is decreasing, as, developers hardly start new projects due to the VAT increase. The new market

Different picture With respect to the number of occupancy permits, the data show a different picture. In the second quarter of 2020, the number of completed

trend is that supply on the market is constantly narrowing,” Tibor Földi, chairman of the board at real eastate developer Cordia told realista.hu.

Absent foreigners The robust increase in real estate prices recorded over the past few years was in part due to property purchases (mainly

in Budapest) by foreign nationals. In 2018 alone, foreign interest in Hungarian properties showed an increase of 23% compared to the previous year. According to a ranking compiled by real estate website ingatlan.com, the highest number of visits to the website from outside Hungary was from the United States but only 7,000 of them were actually interested in a Hungarian property for sale, which means a 23% decrease compared to last year. Visitors from Germany are in second place, but the number of inquiries has dropped by 15%. The UK came in third, with actual inquiries falling by 22% in the first half of the year. With the coronavirus epidemic showing few signs of abating and travel restrictions remaining in place or new ones being introduced, it is safe to say that real estate purchases by foreigners will remain subdued this year. In addition, the government and the Municipality of Budapest plan to restrict short-term house rentals in the capital, which could also have a significant impact on the market as many foreigners purchase apartments in Budapest for short-term sublets like Airbnb. The future course of the pandemic and the speed of the economic recovery will be the decisive factors for this segment of the property market. One thing is for sure, a protracted absence of foreign buyers is bound to have far-reaching implications for the Hungarian real estate market.

Buyer:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VAT Number:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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PAYMENT BANK TRANSFER

Please, invoice me at the address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................................

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Account No: Unicredit Bank 10918001-00000106-89200006

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INTERVIEW WITH PETER BURKHARD, SWITZERLAND’S AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY

BY EDITH BALÁZS

Switzerland prides itself with having the oldest policy of military neutrality in the world. The Alpine nation has been spearheading the global promotion of peace and solidarity for well over a century and

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is an internationally acclaimed actor in conflict mediation. In addition to these values, the culture of sustainability and environmental awareness are also core principles that Swiss enterprises uphold and promulgate in their operations worldwide.

“This culture and awareness is transported to Hungary by Swiss enterprises through their

AREA country comparison to the world POPULATION country comparison to the world POPULATION GROWTH RATE country comparison to the world BIRTH RATE country comparison to the world LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH country comparison to the world NET MIGRATION RATE country comparison to the world GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) country comparison to the world UNEMPLOYMENT RATE country comparison to the world TELEPHONES - MOBILE/CELLULAR country comparison to the world AIRPORTS country comparison to the world

HUNGARY

SWITZERLAND

93,028 sq km 110 9,919,128 (July 2014 est.)

90 -0.21% (2014 est.)

214 9.26 births/1,000 population 214 75.46 years 93 1.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population 55 $24,300 (2014 est.)

73 7,1% (2014 est.)

77 11,580,000 (2012) 67 41 (2013) 104

41,277 sq km 136 8,403,994 (July 2020 est.)

100 0.66% (2020 est.)

145 10.5 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)

187 82.8 years 13 4.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)

28 62,100 (2017 est.)

17 3.2% (2017 est.)

40 10,808,148 81 63 (2013) 78

Source: World Factbook

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As an international pioneer of environment protection, international solidarity and peace promotion, Switzerland propagates these core values in Hungary as well through the presence of Swiss enterprises and Swisscham Hungary, the bilateral chamber operating in the country, says Peter Burkhard, Swiss Ambassador to Hungary. The diplomat stresses that an extensive overhaul of the nation’s education and health care systems is very important for Hungary to maintain and sharpen its allure in the race for investments.

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

SPREADING A MESSAGE OF GLOBAL SOLIDARITY AND STABILITY

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swiss focus investments and activities. For the past 25 years, Swisscham, the bilateral Chamber of Commerce in Hungary has also fulfilled the same role. If a Swiss enterprise sets up a business operation here, they apply the same standards as in Switzerland and import the state-of-the-art sustainability and social responsibility approach of their home country,” Ambassador Peter Burkhard tells Diplomacy&Trade in an exclusive interview.

European Union by committing CHF 1 billion to projects and programs in the ten states that joined the European Union in May 2004. Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in 2007, are supported with additional CHF 257 million. In December 2014, the Swiss Parliament approved further CHF 45 million for Croatia, which became a member state in 2013. Switzerland’s enlargement contribution corresponds to approximately 8% of the EU’s contributions to promote cohesion in the 13 member states that have joined the EU since 2004.

“Under the Swiss contribution, there were 37 public sector projects in Hungary and a number of these were related to sustainability and environmental protection. Exploratory talks have started between the governments of Switzerland and Hungary on a second Swiss contribution and one area of focus would be water purification, applying the expertise accumulated in Switzerland over the years,” according to the Ambassador.

A champion of values

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DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

Neutrality has been an internationally recognized, governing principle of Swiss behavior for centuries.

“Swiss foreign policy is very much driven by the principles of universality, solidarity and the promotion of peace, stability and welfare in the world. So much so that these principles are enshrined in our constitution and they materialize in concrete policy making. Switzerland has institutions and structures within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that are dealing with peace or human rights promotion, conflict mediation and other aspects of universal solidarity,” according to the Ambassador.

Bilateral political relations with Hungary are also defined by this policy of neutrality. The fact that Switzerland is neither an EU nor a NATO member has an impact on the frequency of political interaction between the two nations as Swiss politicians and their Hungarian counterparts do not meet regularly in Brussels or at other EU or NATO events.

“Bilateral relations are defined by geography and history. In terms of history, there is still a catching up following the abolition of the east and west divide in Europe. Our interests, particularly in the field of economy, are aligned: we are both very open economies as both our countries earn a substantial part of their GDP through exports,” Ambassador Burkhard notes.

He stresses that compared to other countries of the same size, Switzerland has a very dense diplomatic network globally with embassies in virtually all Latin American and central Asian countries as well as the entire Caucasian region. “Hungary seems to be following the same logic in terms of building a very wide diplomatic network, which serves not only political but also export-driven economic interests,” Peter Burkhard says.

A country of many languages

operating businesses with headquarters delegating more and more tasks and the range of local competencies widening.

The backbone of the Swiss economy are SMEs and many of them are lesser known than the Switzerland-based multinational companies, as they operate in niche markets. Of the 800 Swiss companies active in Hungary, most are SMEs, like Phoenix Mecano in Kecskemét, Laurastar in Kapuvár and Fraisa in Sárospatak, says Ambassador Burkhard.

shoring up the health care system are key priorities.

“In order to improve the employment prospects of the population and to achieve a reversal of the emigration of skilled workers seen in the previous years, the education and health care system are key factors. This opinion is also shared by many Swiss companies operating in Hungary. If the government’s objective is for Hungary to have higher quality workplaces with a larger technology content than a more qualified workforce with a higher level of education is crucial. And the more educated and qualified a country’s workforce is, the bigger the expectations with regards to the availability of a modern and well-functioning education and health care system. We see that very highly qualified workers from Germany come to work in Switzerland because of the quality of Swiss education, health care and the overall environment,” Peter Burkhard explains.

Committed to Hungary

Caring for the environment

Although the wave of large Swiss investments in Hungary took place nearly three decades ago and the inflow of new investors has slowed considerably, the commitment of Swiss enterprises to Hungary is unwavering. The Ambassador explains that Swiss companies with a presence here are almost without exception expanding their operations. A case in point was pharmaceutical giant Roche’s decision last October to open a pharmacovigilance hub on the outskirts of Budapest or Nestlé Hungary’s investment program of HUF 43 billion over the past seven years, strengthening its position as the largest Swiss investor and job provider in the country. Another tendency is for Swiss enterprises to increase the technology content of their operations here, the diplomat adds.

Hungary used to be part of the manufacturing chain for Swiss corporate investors but these days, Hungarian subsidiaries are essentially independently

Sustainability is part of the Swiss constitution and the country passed legislation on sustainable forestry more than a 100 years ago. The result was one of the most progressive forestry laws in Europe. In the late 1960s and the 1970s, a huge effort went into water cleaning and water protection in Switzerland and in consequence all Swiss lakes have drinking water quality.

Electricity production has been CO2 free historically because of the abundance hydro and nuclear power plants. Very early on Switzerland has placed a special focus on energy efficiency, long before discussions in other countries started on this topic. Switzerland has shared its invaluable expertise in the field of environment protection as part of a program called the Swiss contribution to enlargement. Through the contribution, Switzerland has helped reduce economic and social disparities in the enlarged

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Staying ahead of the competition In the “friendly and balanced competition” among the central and eastern European countries for foreign investment, the final decision is often up to small details, personal contacts or the cluster effect, the Ambassador notes. For instance, SSCs is the financial industry are mostly set up in Poland and not Hungary.

Nevertheless, for a country to stay ahead of the game in the race for capital, the availability of skilled and highly-educated labor is essential. To further boost Hungary’s allure as an investment destination, the overhaul of the nation’s education system, with particular regard to vocational training, as well as

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With four official languages and many others spoken widely, Switzerland is an emissary of multilingualism. According to official data, the economic value of multilingualism has been estimated to be 9% of Swiss GDP and is a source of considerable wealth for the country. In particular, its value to IT services has been calculated to be nearly 25% and its value to the chemical, transport and mechanical engineering industries to be over 15% each.

The diplomat notes that the other root of linguistic diversity is the fact that Switzerland has to a large degree been a country of immigrants. The share of foreigners living in the Alpine country has been around 20% since the 1900s. A person who speaks Spanish or Serbian would not run into linguistic problems anywhere in Switzerland, the Ambassador points out as anecdotal evidence. As an exporting country, this is a huge asset for the Swiss economy.

“The common denominator of the cultural activities organized or supported by the Embassy is clearly multilingualism. We are actively cooperating with Germany and Austria in promoting Germanlanguage cultural events, the same is true in the case of French speaking countries, and to some extent we also participate in Italian cultural programs,” Peter Burkhard concludes.

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Steady membership

SWISSCHAM: QUARTER OF A CENTURY IN HUNGARY PANDEMIC SITUATION UPSETS PLANS FOR THE JUBILEE YEAR

The Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce ‘Swisscham Hungary’ was founded in 1995.

The leaders of the organization, President Dr. István Béres and Managing Director Júlia Lipovecz had a different jubilee year in mind for 2020. They tell Diplomacy&Trade what they planned, what they could do and what they have postponed due to the pandemic situation.

“We had a lot of plans for this 25th anniversary year. Some of these were traditional ideas but we also wanted to introduce some novelties. We thought that a jubilee definitely deserved a gala event, therefore, we planned a gala dinner – like the very successful one we had at the 20th anniversary. Still, we felt we needed something new that corresponds to these new times we have and we wanted to plant 25 trees here in Budapest to commemorate the 25 years. We had to postpone it in the spring but it is still an option for October, should the epidemic situation allow for it,” Dr. István Béres says.

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meeting was also planned.

Eventually, taking advantage of the new regulations, many functions could be carried out through voting in writing and via video conferencing but the ceremonial assembly meeting originally planned, including the invitation of a prominent guest, could not be held.

Júlia Lipovecz adds that since traditional meetings had to be scrapped, “we needed to shift to digital solutions. What we had in mind primarily was how we could assist our member companies. We introduced more frequent newsletters for which we solicited information from our members so that they could propagate

information through this means under the changed circumstances. It was especially so with products and services related to the pandemic.

We tried to focus on useful things to provide our members with as timely and updated information as possible in a more concentrated way given the limitations of the digital conferencing.”

The original objectives István says he is confident that the aims set at the start of Swisscham Hungary have been achieved to a substantial degree, have proven the test of time and are still valid. He has personally followed the chamber’s activities over these 25 years as he was a founding A U G U S T

Júlia stresses that a lot of members are still with Swisscham – for more than 20 years. “Over these years, we have seen a continuous increase in our membership and now, we have 102 members. In the 1990s, it was mainly production companies joining. Although, we don’t have many new investors recently, this year already, we have a new Swiss firm starting production in Hungary. We have many non-Swiss members, as well, who have joined because they wish to establish contact with Swiss businesses.”

István adds that at first, it was the big international companies who established businesses in Hungary after the change of the political system here. Then came the SMEs who saw an opportunity to increase their production volume.

Business Day postponed One of the now traditional Swisscham Hungary events, the Swiss Business Day, was due to be held again in 2020.

It is one of the programs that had to be put off to next year as such an event, as István says, is one that “definitely requires personal presence.” Júlia highlights that they are also going to have a new concept that is not based on exhibitions but rather “it is going to be a conference workshop with greater involvement of our member companies and we expressly count on the participation of economic players.” As István adds, “we plan a colorful Swiss Business Day because we have multifaceted membership. We tried to compose the program so that each member can find something interesting, those interested in topical themes like environmental protection, digitization, etc.”

Cooperation partners In past years, Swisscham Hungary has had several events co-organized with fellow bilateral chambers in Hungary. Júlia points out that they have always had excellent relations 2 0 2 0

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with these partners. “In recent years, cooperation has been stronger with the European bilateral chambers, especially the German-speaking ones.

We have had joint programs with the German and Austrian chambers.

We also have organized events together with the Dutch – or the Brits beforehand, and we are seeking new partners, as well. These pandemic times have demonstrated well the necessity of such cooperation.”

Swisscham also maintains excellent ties with the Swiss Embassy in Budapest. “We have an effective and flexible cooperation,” Júlia says.

István reminds that “a couple of years ago, our chamber had innovation as a topic of priority. Since Switzerland is one of the top countries in the world regarding the way innovation is handled and the amount of funding for innovation is outstanding, they have ample experience of several decades in this field. The Ambassador said the Swiss would be happy to pass this knowledge on to Hungarians.

Another example is last year’s very successful health issues forum to which the Embassy invited the deputy state secretary from Switzerland.

About a decade ago, we invited the head of the Swiss tax authority who delivered a successful lecture in Budapest about the Swiss tax system, including the most important principles, how the major policy lines had been developed and why that systems function so well.”

Júlia mentions the previous Swiss ambassador’s idea from 2016, the 'Grand Tour of Switzerland in Hungary', a program series presenting towns, cities or regions in Hungary with historical, cultural or economic ties to Switzerland.

“In that case, we provided the necessary contacts through our members for the actual stops on this tour,” she says. Also, “from time to time, it happens that one of our member companies have some issues to clear up with the Hungarian government authorities.

In such cases, the Embassy is right there to help,” István adds.

Swisscham’s relations are also great with the Hungarian Embassy in Bern.

“Should someone contact us for help in Switzerland, we can always count on their assistance,” Dr. István Béres points out. “And there is the Switzerland Global Enterprise, the Swiss organization for export and investment promotion is our important partner in Switzerland.

This January, they launched the new regional V4 HUB in Warsaw, which serves as gateway for the Swiss businesses to the Visegrád Four Group, thus to the Hungarian market, as well. It is a great initiative, which creates an effective group based on shared experiences,” Júlia Lipovecz concludes.

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member and has been member of the board since the establishment of the organization. “Providing information for our members and assisting them in establishing contact with the authorities and/or other member companies as well as providing networking opportunities have all been on the agenda since the beginning. From the first weeks, it has been a major aim to regularly organize various programs where members have the opportunity to meet each other as well as other important people to exchange information. The format of these meetings has changed over time.

In the early years, basically all we had were business lunches. Politicians in those times were much more open to meet businesses. Then, we held more and more programs of a professional nature on subjects like taxation, legal issues, HR matters, etc.,” he points out.

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

swiss focus

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TRAVEL ON THE UPPER DECK SOON ON THE RAILWAY LINES OF HUNGARY www.stadlerrail.com

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CARL LUTZ ANNIVERSARY YEAR

REMEMBRANCE FOR THE HEROIC SWISS DIPLOMAT POSTPONED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC This year marks the 125th anniversary of the birth and the 45th anniversary of the death of Carl Lutz (March 30, 1895 – February 12, 1975), the Swiss diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II. Carl Lutz worked as a vice consul at the Swiss Embassy between 1942 and 1945. He stayed in Budapest throughout the period of the Hungarian Holocaust, and from the autumn of 1944, he granted Swiss asylum to thousands of persecuted people by means of a certificate that officially recognized the holder as a Swiss citizen. He is also credited with inventing the Schutzbrief (protective letter) for Jewish refugees in Budapest. After March 19, 1944, the Germans occupied Hungary and the new Hungarian government closed the Hungarian borders to Jewish emigration.

In tough negotiations with the Nazis and the Hungarian government, Lutz obtained permission to issue protective letters to 8,000 Hungarian Jews for emigration to

Palestine that was under British authority at that time. Through a ruse, interpreting the 8,000 ‘units’ not as persons but as families, he and his staff issued tens of thousands of additional ‘protective letters’. He counted on hundreds of Jewish volunteers who helped him process the protective letters and distribute them throughout Budapest. He established 76 Swiss safe houses throughout the Hungarian capital and, with the help of his wife Gertrud, liberated Jews from deportation centers and death marches. He is credited

by Jewish relief agencies with saving 62,000 Jews from the Nazi Holocaust. The operation of Carl Lutz’s system and the issuing of protective letters was subsequently adopted by representatives of other neutral governments in Budapest, such as the Swedish ambassador Raoul Wallenberg.

Recognitions After the war, Carl Lutz was recalled to Switzerland but it was only several decades later, in 1995, that the State of Switzerland finally acknowledged Carl Lutz’ heroic acts of humanitarian aid and no longer condemned his actions as an ‘infringement of his boundaries’, and finally rehabilitated his reputation as an outstanding diplomat. His astonishing actions were also recognized internationally: he was

nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize, he was made ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ by Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Authority in 1965 and was also declared an honorary citizen of the State of Israel. The most complete collection of documents about Carl Lutz and his activities in Budapest is Theo Tschuy's book ‘Honor and Courage’. ‘Under Swiss protection’ is the title of book edited by Agnes Hirschi, Carl Lutz’s adopted daughter, published last year, the translation of which was supported by the Swiss Embassy of Hungary and the book presentation took place at the ambassador’s residence in Budapest.

The memory of Carl Lutz is commemorated throughout Budapest. A small monument, which forms an open book and contains a relief on its two visible pages, stands in front of the American Embassy in Budapest.

(Carl Lutz acted as a Swiss diplomat in this building from 1944-45.) Another memorial statue (depicting a person saving another) is located on Dob Street in the former Jewish quarter.

The Swiss Embassy planned a commemoration scheduled for March this year but it had to be postponed the due to the coronavirus epidemic.

As soon as the Covid-19 situation enables, the Embassy will hold the event to commemorate Carl Lutz.

‘PANDEMIC STYLE’ GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Proposals for decision were uploaded by the Director of the Chamber to the website of the organization and sent to all members. In order to provide the most accurate information possible, a video conference was organized that gave members an opportunity to make comments and suggestions on the resolution topics.

In addition, members could send questions and remarks in writing to the director of the chamber. Eventually, 55 of the 101 members returned a valid paper ballot by the set deadline.

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Péter Noszek

Irma Veberic

János Prodán

The General Meeting of Swisscham Hungary approved the annual report for 2019 and the draft budget for 2020. The General Assembly also elected the following people to the Board of Swisscham Hungary for a term of five years: Balázs Bene (Alpiq Csepel Kft.), Dr. István Béres (Dr. István Béres Law Office), László Deák (Innoradar Kft.), Zoltán Dunai (Stadler Trains Magyarország Kft.), Zoltán Gazsi (Eisberg Kft.), Roland Kreissig (Novartis Hungária Kft.), Andrea Kuntner (VGD Hungary Kft.), Taira-Julia Lammi (ABB Kft.), Júlia Lipovecz (Swisscham Hungary),

Péter Noszek (Nestlé Hungária Kft.), János Prodán (Zultzer Kft.), András Szántó (Meeting Budapest Kft.), Péter Szlávik (Philip Morris Magyarország Kft.), Mária Szmodis (Hungarian Representation of VITRA) and Irma Veberic (Roche Magyarország Kft.).

The Board has extended the term of office of the current Chairman, Dr. István Béres for another five years. Three members of the Board also hold the positions of ViceChair: János Prodán, Péter Noszek and Irma Veberic. The Director of Swisscham continues to be Júlia Lipovecz.

Pursuant to the Articles of Association, the General Assembly elected five people to the Supervisory Board: Gábor Balázs (Securiton Kft.), Dr. Zoltán Nádasdy (Noerr & Partner Office), Dr. Zoltán Nagy (Phoenix Mecano Kecskemét Kft.), Ákos Sass (Goessler Kuverts Kft.) and György Varknal (Fraisa Hungária Kft.) with Dr. Zoltán Nádasdy as President. Their term of office is also five years. The election of the chairman and vice-chairmen and the chairman of the supervisory board took place by videoconference.

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Based on a government decree issued during the COVID-19 emergency, the presidency of Swisscham Hungary decided to pass resolutions on current issues that fall within the competence of the general assembly through writein votes from its members. The reelection of President Dr. István Béres and the continuity by Júlia Lipovecz as Director will guarantee carrying on the well-proven operation.

DOTHAN/WIKIMEDIA, D&T ARCHIVE, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, GÁBOR ANCSIN, ZULTZER

SWISS CHAMBER ACCEPTS WRITE-IN VOTES

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swiss focus SALADS FOR THE HEROES

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE!

When Eisberg Hungary Managing Director Zoltán Gazsi learned he had colon cancer last August, after the first shock, he quickly started to concentrate on the solution. In various interviews, he said he had been in difficult situations beforehand, which may have prepared him that “whatever happens in life, I will handle it well” and it helps “if you are lucky and you have a positive view of life.” There is a long way to full recovery after the first negative test, but “I have a mission as manager: to highlight the importance of colonoscopy test. One can eat and live healthy, but cancer is a very complex problem. Most of us have stress, so, screening is evitable,” Zoltán Gazsi recently told the business magazine Figyelő.

Employees of the Szent László Hospital received a hot lunch every day in April and fresh pastries for their morning snack from the kitchen of the Groupama Arena. The initiative continued in May, with 150 servings of lunch a day prepared for the hospital staff on weekdays until the middle of the month. "As the operator of Groupama Arena, we thought that as long as there were no football matches in the stadium, we would not be idle but help those who were working on the front line during the epidemic," András Igaz, Managing Director of Sportfive (earlier called Lagardère Sports Hungary Ltd.) highlights. The kitchen of Groupama Arena was asked to prepare meals for the staff of the nearby hospital. Master Chef András Wolf, who runs the kitchen of the sports facility, was happy to take on the task. "In addition, our company and colleagues jointly donated HUF 10 million to the Foundation for Patients, Doctors and Employees of the Szent László and Szent István

Hospital," the director adds.

Eisberg Hungary joined the initiative on May 1. They undertook to make the meals even more colorful and vitamin-rich with their salads and toppings. This was not the first time, however, that Sportfive Hungary partnered with Eisberg.

“At the beginning of our cooperation, we enriched the food offer with salads at a reception in the VIP sector, as this was missing from the palette before. We are connected to football in many ways, last year, for instance, the management of the Hungarian Football Federation visited our factory,” Eisberg Hungary Managing Director Zoltán Gazsi says proudly.

The green color is usually associated with the Ferencváros club. The color of Eisberg is also green as they produce salads with lettuce and fresh vegetables. According to Zoltán Gazsi, the two entities are a well-matched couple, their encounter was basically that of fate. The common thinking did not end with the salad offering during

this campaign, mainly because the operator of FTC’s stadium considers social responsibility important – as does Eisberg.

“I am convinced that we can find a lot more opportunities for cooperation.

This is how the idea came for our brand ambassador, singer Bea Palya, to cook with András Wolf.

Bea Palya’s values are very similar to Eisberg’s: she puts emphasis on human relationships and is also a believer in natural cuisine. An integral part of the latter is that she prefers natural foods, including salads,” the Managing Director points out.

Salads for your immune system Salads, with their high vitamin content, have a positive impact on the immune system the wellfunctioning of which is paramount in preventing diseases. This is especially true in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic: salads and raw vegetables now clearly play a key role in people’s diet.

Kinga Shenker-Horváth, dietitian at Eisberg Hungary Ltd. stresses that the proper functioning of the immune system depends on one’s lifestyle. The three pillars of a healthy lifestyle are a balanced diet, adequate exercise and mental balance, which also interact in a complex way.

“Vegetables and fruits are high on the daily diet because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. The recommendation is to eat at least four servings of each per day, one serving is about ten dekagrams of fresh, steamed or cooked vegetables or fruits (such as a medium-sized

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tomato, a medium-sized apple or a small plate of salad). Four servings a day may seem like a lot first but if you add vegetables or fruits to every meal, the recommendation is easy to follow. Add fresh, seasonal vegetables, salads such as baby spinach, tomatoes, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, iceberg and bird salad to your main meals,” the dietitian suggests.

Another important aspect of avoiding disease is maximum hygiene. If people buy non-packaged fruits or vegetables for environmental reasons, they should be worried not only about general contamination but also about viruses in the current situation. In addition, if you want to wash them thoroughly, you also waste a lot of water. That is why buying a pre-packaged salad mix can be a good choice now. According to Zoltán Gazsi, in the case of non-heattreated products, the consumer can expect the strictest hygiene practice.

“Salads will not be baked or cooked at home, hygiene requirements are highest for these foods as we produce a ready-to-eat raw product.

In our case, the epidemic situation brought about only minimal changes within the plant. Now, white collar staff who are not working from an at home office also wear face masks.

In the factory area, our people have always worked in protective clothing, caps, rubber gloves and mouth masks at all times,” the executive emphasizes.

SALAD OF THE COUNTRY

Eisberg trusts the taste of Hungarian salad consumers, so, it decided to ask for their help to put together its next product. The ’Salad of the Country’ will be ready by the National Day of August 20.

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Eisberg Hungary joined Sportfive Hungary Ltd. and the Ferencváros sports club FTC in the initiative "We cook for heroes!" In addition to their free lunches, created by master chef András Wolf in the kitchen of the FTC stadium Groupama Arena, 150 hospital workers received fresh salads daily.

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EISBERG DONATES SALADS TO HOSPITAL WORKERS AND ENCOURAGES HEALTHY NUTRITION

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Strong first half of the year Since this spring, a lot of enterprises have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Mihály Karkas points out, the management’s first and foremost priority is to protect our employees. “We are also very committed to supporting our customers. The strength of our business to weather the storm lies in the resilience we have built up through having ‘natural hedges’. This means that we are present in every single market in the world, with the widest diversity of products and customers. These have been built up over many years by the development of a business footprint, and strengthened by the acquisitions made since 2014. These natural hedges contribute to our resilience. In fact, the factory in Makó shipped a greater volume of product in the first half of this year to our customers than we planned.”

The Makó factory’s product portfolio includes flavors for snacks and crackers; savory products like convenient food, plant based products, processed foods, dry soups, instant noodles and sauces; as well as sweet goods and dairy (e.g.: yogurt-desserts, medicines).

The company also offers integrated solutions, that is, “value added solutions that integrate multiple functional ingredients and flavors, which enhance value-proposition and create new growth opportunities with our customers,” Mihály Karkas explains.

Valued member of the Givaudan family

A VALUED MEMBER OF THE GIVAUDAN FAMILY THE GIVAUDAN PLANT IN HUNGARY PRODUCES STRONG FIRST SIX MONTHS RESULTS

Ten years ago this year, Givaudan, the world's largest company in the flavor and fragrance segment, announced it would build a factory in Makó, SE Hungary, creating hundreds of jobs. Head of Operations and Company Manager Mihály Karkas talks to Diplomacy&Trade about the operations and achievements of this Givaudan plant.

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The main markets where the Makó site sells products include mature markets in Western Europe, emerging markets in the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) and AME (Africa and Middle East) regions and it also supports other Givaudan sister companies by inter-affiliate export.

The Makó factory plays an important role in the international network of the ‘Givaudan family’. It is the Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Europe for powdered flavors. “We integrate the intermediate production process step by step into our activities in Makó and thanks to that, we can fulfil customer needs in a more agile and resilient way with better customer service levels,” the company manager says.

The Makó factory is part of the global operations network that grows together with the business of Givaudan. “We have applied the Continuous Improvement concept for several years now.

The LEAN way of thinking helps us to improve performance, reduce waste and eventually provide better quality and service to our customers. We gained the Silver-Gold certification in 2018 and we are going to apply for Silver-Gold plus certification this year. Our production volume has increased by over 35% in the past years and the new product segment ‘Sweet Goods&Dairy flavors’ was transferred to our facility last year,” he adds proudly.

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Hungarian suppliers During the last two years, Givaudan Hungary has established a strong partnership with local suppliers in order to reinforce the supply pattern of some of the key ingredients for the Snacks&Savoury business, including natural commodities like sugar.

As a result, a Hungarian supplier now provides the majority of the sugar needed for Givaudan’s Hungarian entity. Givaudan Hungary has made a huge step forward in sourcing different locally produced and processed dehydrated vegetables. “We have increased the amount of vegetable powders like spinach, parsley leaves, celery powder and dill we source from local companies. We are also running other development projects focused on key components like carrot, cauliflower, celery, and paprika powders. Another local Hungarian entity is also providing Givaudan Hungary with a specific spirit vinegar item,” Mihály Karkas highlights.

Givaudan is using these raw materials in a processed, powder form; therefore, the quality is crucial, and the selected and approved suppliers must meet the required organoleptic and microbiology parameters of Givaudan. As a joint collaboration with local farmers and a dehydrated vegetable processing company, Givaudan Hungary has initiated an agricultural project to grow and process white onions which meets the Givaudan standard.

A responsible company For Givaudan, social responsibility is a key issue, and Givaudan is a purpose-led company. As the company manager puts it, employee wellbeing is their top priority. For example, this July is a ‘fruit month’ when every day, everybody enjoys a piece of fruit, which can help enhance their health. During the unprecedented crisis this spring, Givaudan established a Community Fund to help provide assistance to local communities. For example, with money from the Givaudan Community Fund, the Makó factory collaborated with the Hungarian Red Cross and donated intensive care monitors, infusion pumps and masks for the Makó Hospital.

And that is not all. With the operational support of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, from May, the company has helped provide warm meals for local families in need.

We also regularly support local communities in cooperation with the Municipality of Makó.

This year’s coronavirus crisis raised the need for masks in vast numbers. With Givaudan Hungary’s help, highly impacted public service employees and citizens of Makó received washable masks for their own and their communities’ protection,” the company manager points out.

Givaudan’s support for the community has been recognized in several ways, including receiving the ‘Blood Donor Workplace’ award from the Hungarian Red Cross in November 2019.

Between August 2020 and March 2021, the Makó Factory is collaborating is with the Givaudan Foundation and the Hungarian Red Cross to deliver other types of community support. This includes providing a collection of school supplies in August; supporting ‘Hero training’ (a training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and First Aid training) and ‘Girl becomes Woman’ educational run by professionals in the local schools. The company also provides support through Christmas food donations; Christmas shoebox donations (educational toys, books, etc.); and the collection of hygiene products.

“Altogether, we support at least 400 families and individuals and with the training programs, we plan to reach approximately a thousand people,” Mihály Karkas concludes.

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“This important investment project contributes very well to the growth strategy of the company. A diverse operational footprint, from a product segment and geographical point of view, is an essential foundation of the success. The Makó factory is a highly automated multi-technology site where we produce a wide range of flavors. The factory meets all the challenging quality and religious requirements of customers. In addition, we provide a superior customer experience with high level of efficiency and competiveness,” the company manager says. He adds that in the last years, the number of jobs at the factory has increased by over 40%, which is an important contribution to the wellbeing and economic development of the area. Givaudan Hungary Ltd. is the 9th largest enterprise in Csongrád County and the second largest in the Makó area. Its products are exported to over 90 different countries around the globe.

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A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE CAN ONLY BE SMOKE-FREE Thanks to scientific and technological advancements, the world is undergoing fundamental changes and the tobacco industry is no exception. The tobacco companies of the world are working on achieving a smoke-free future; their aim is none other than to ensure that as many adult smokers give up cigarettes as possible and as quickly as possible.

It is clear that governments should continue their prevention and cessation efforts in order to ensure that people who do not smoke never start smoking and those who already smoke are encouraged

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PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL

What is the problem with cigarettes?

It is common knowledge that cigarettes are harmful to health. However, it is less obvious that the substances found in the smoke and created during the burning of the cigarette are the primary causes of smoking-related diseases. These are harmful to the health of smokers and non-smokers alike. Cigarette smoke contains several thousands of toxic chemicals, such as arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide, lead, nicotine and carbon-monoxide, many of which have been proven to be associated with – or directly responsible for – the development of various diseases.

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The essential goals of the smoke-free future are none other than to relegate cigarettes to the past and to offer alternatives to smokers who do not quit and would otherwise continue smoking, alternatives that are scientifically proven to be less harmful than continued smoking. There are already several R&D centers around the world where experts, scientists and engineers are researching smoke-free technologies in the hope that these alternatives will ultimately replace cigarettes in the near future. According to industry forecasts, given an appropriate regulatory framework and the support of the civil sector, the sale of cigarettes could cease in several countries within 10-15 years.

However, it is not enough to choose a direction to go in; the smoke-free future demands serious commitment from companies. Several key changes will have to be implemented to ensure that smoke-free thinking is integrated into general and day-to-day business process in a sustainable manner.

It is clear today that the biggest positive impact tobacco companies can have on society is doing everything they can to ensure that for those who do not quit for whatever reason replace cigarettes with less harmful alternatives. Therefore, it is becoming more and more important to invest as much of their available resources as possible into researching scientifically proven alternatives that offer a better choice than cigarettes and to sell these in a responsible manner with the aim of replacing cigarettes as quickly as possible.

Thus, we know that smoking causes addiction and a number of serious diseases. According to the estimates of leading international organizations, there are currently one billion smokers around the world and in spite of the healthcare measures introduced in various countries, this number is not likely to change significantly in the future due to the ever-increasing population.

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to quit smoking as soon as possible. It is also important that adult smokers who, for some reason, do not quit and continue smoking should have access to information about harm reduction and smoke-free alternatives.

However, it is important to be aware that these technologies are not safe or risk-free either and they are not substitute for quitting. The best thing to do to reduce smoking related harm is to stop smoking or using any nicotinecontaining products.

This article is a public service advertisement financed by Philip Morris MagyarorszĂĄg Kft.

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NESTLÉ: A RESILIENT, RESPONSIBLE FIRM

pandemic received their basic salary, and as of April 1, an extraordinary wage and benefits package was introduced for three months of the pandemic emergency period. With that, salaries of employees working in Hungarian production units and warehouses increased by up to 20 %, while sales colleagues received a 10 % basic salary supplement, he added.

Providing for the community The company spent another HUF 80 million on health protection and security measures, providing targeted support for those commuting to work as well as a free meal each day.

Thanks to these initiatives, the company strengthened its relationship with communities and local governments where Nestlé factories operate, in line with the joint value creation undertakings of the global company group, Péter Noszek said. As part of these undertakings, the company, which offered dedicated assistance wherever possible during the pandemic, aims to improve the livelihood of 30 million communities around the world directly linked to the business activities of the company by 2030. In the first six months of the year, the company proved its flexible resilience: the half-yearly report that has just been published shows promising organic growth (2.8 %) and improving margins (30 basis point growth in underlying trading operating profit).

“The measures we introduced are considered unique in the Hungarian market, in terms of the sum of expenditure, the nature of aid as well as their diverse nature,” the managing director concluded.

AN IMPORTANT GOAL IS TO MAINTAIN STAFF’S FINANCIAL SECURITY

Nestlé cared for not only its employees’ health during the emergency situation caused by the new coronavirus pandemic but also for their financial security. The financial indicators of the first six months show that steps taken to support company employees and those in need were clearly successful from an economic viewpoint as well.

Nestlé Hungária has been operating in Hungary for nearly 30 years and is currently the largest Swiss investor and employer. The corporation is interconnected with the country in so many ways and is especially proud of the fact that the majority of its suppliers are Hungarian enterprises, which annually sell various products and services to the global Nestlé network at a value of HUF 54 billion.

Although at the beginning of this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all companies worldwide had to face serious difficulties, Nestlé Hungária not only maintained its impetus but also managed to move up a gear. Company turnover, mainly due to exports, increased by 5.7% as compared to the first six months of 2019. Hungarian revenues increased by 4.3% to HUF 27.5 billion.

supply the population with food and pet food,” Nestlé Hungária managing director Péter Noszek, who is also a board member at the Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Swisscham). In addition to protecting the safety and health of its employees, he listed maintaining

the financial security of colleagues as one of the most important goals of the company.

The company, which reacted to the crisis situation swiftly and effectively, spent HUF 350 million on direct employee financial support. Those who could not carry out their tasks because of the

Continuous supply These are more than promising signs after a six-month period when the most decisive factor was overall and drastic economic downturn due to the pandemic. “As the major player of the Hungarian food industry, we could not sit back during the coronavirus situation: it was our priority, our strategic task to continuously

ACTING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

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NESTLÉ, ATTILA BARTHA

As the world’s largest food production company, Nestlé makes great efforts to eradicate plastic pollution, one of the most pressing environmental protection problems of the planet. It has pledged to use solely recyclable or reusable packaging materials by 2025. In accordance with these undertakings, the company has already taken steps in Hungary, ie: the NESQUIK All Natural cocoa powder produced in the Szerencs factory is available in recyclable paper packaging on the market. Nestlé is an active member of the sustainable development organization BCSDH, where it works to put into practice and apply the three basic pillars of sustainable growth: the principles of economic efficiency, ecological balance and social quality of life, to contribute to the sustainable development of the Hungarian economy and society.

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BUILDING TRUST - VISIBLE SWISS VALUES FROM SIKA HUNGARY We have emphasised on excellent full scale services to building supplies for more than 25 years in Hungary. ...and we emphasis on: Innovation – that is present in our everyday life Sustainability – pay attention to how much waste, burden we produce Social responsibility – support the communities with various projects every year

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STADLER: BETTER THAN EXPECTED PERFORMANCE THE FIRST EVER TRAM-TRAINS IN HUNGARY ARE SUPPLIED BY STADLER TRAINS

This year, Stadler Trains Hungary Ltd. celebrates its 15th anniversary. The company’s Country Manager, Zoltán Dunai tells Diplomacy&Trade about the company’s successful one and a half decades in this country since contracting with MÁV Hungarian State Railways to supply FLIRT trains in 2005.

trains in operation in the Hungarian market in Pusztaszabolcs. The production activities of the group are located in Szolnok, where we have a car body manufacturing factory and a revision and production facility for railway bogies. The volume of investment in Hungary in the past 15 years has totaled HUF 30 billion while the consolidated turnover of Stadler companies here in 2019 was HUF 44 billion,” Zoltán Dunai highlights.

Shifting to one shift

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This July, Stadler announced it will deliver four additional hybrid tram-train vehicles to the Hungarian Railways. The Hungarian state railway company MÁV-START Co. Ltd. signed a contract with Stadler for the supply of eight bi-mode tram-train vehicles with an option for four additional units in May 2017. This option has now been called by the customer. The new vehicles, which will connect – without transfer – the tram networks of Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely, are the first tram-trains in Hungary. The objective of the project is to provide a high quality public transportation system for passengers commuting every day between the two cities. The bidirectional and bi-mode Citylink vehicles cover tramway applications and full train operations at 100km/h. They are able to operate in electric mode under 600 V DC overhead on the tram networks in both cities, and in diesel mode on the mainline connecting both cities. The new tram-trains have been designed according to the latest safety standards and have a capacity over 200 people.

Company structure Currently, Stadler has three companies in Hungary. The first one, Stadler Trains Hungary Ltd., which was established in 2005 and acts as the head office of the group in the country, is mainly responsible for sales and communications. “We have the maintenance center of the company for the service of A U G U S T

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Tram trains

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“The past 15 years were very exciting for us, nobody would have believed in 2005 that Stadler was going to be so successful in Hungary. Altogether, we have sold in the Hungarian market 195 rail vehicles, 63 four-car electric FLIRT trains to MÁV, 20 four-car electric FLIRT trains to GYSEV (that operates routes between Hungary and Austria), 40 double-deck KISS multiple units to MÁV, and 8+4 tram-trains that will operate between Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely in southeast Hungary.

This is an incredible achievement.” In fact, Stadler did not only become the largest supplier in the history of MÁV Hungarian Railways, but also became an important employer and a strategic partner for Hungary. It built car body and bogies factories in Szolnok, a maintenance center in Pusztaszabolcs, and there are altogether 600 people working for Stadler Trains Hungary.

The Country Manager says the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is different from country to county. “In Hungary, there was a month where we reacted to the pandemic by moving to one shift in our factories from the original two, so that we could adhere to the rule of social distancing and reduce the number of contacts as much as possible. However, in Spain, where the situation was really bad, we needed to close down the whole factory. The rail industry is not like the automotive market, we have a firm order backlog, so the potential impact of shutdowns will only be known later, maybe years later, as – due to the pandemic –investments and procurements are postponed, too. At the moment, we are trying to work as normal, and do everything to keep the strict delivery schedules.”

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swiss focus design side and we expect it to be completed by late October with our customers always being able to see the latest information online,” he highlights.

Innovation for future Like in many other industries, innovation is a key to success in the area covered by Sika’s activities. It is also of paramount importance in Sika’s policy to ensure that they keep up with, and many times keep ahead of, the competition in innovation and practicality.

As the General Manager recalls, Sika has always been in the forefront in research and development. “It is a great benefit that we have behind us a very experienced R&D organization and every target market has its own research team. There are enormous amounts of innovative ideas and products coming from our mother company, including a high number of new patents – we pick what we can best utilize in our local market and provide our customers with a significant share of new products in Hungary, as well.”

Sustainability, a fundamental value

BUILDING TRUST

CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT, NEW INNOVATIONS IN THE PIPELINE OF SIKA As a sign of further development, Sika Hungária, the local subsidiary of Sika AG, the Swiss chemical company of building supplies, has moved to a larger site in Biatorbágy, just outside Budapest. As General Manager András Berecz tells Diplomacy&Trade, the company is constantly introducing new products and solutions to keep ahead of competition, increasing their role in sales to end-users, educating customers about new technologies and serving communities in the framework of sustainability.

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DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

Sika, established in 1910, set up its subsidiary in Hungary in 1993.

The economic environment has had its ups and downs during these 27 years.

As the General Manager points out, Sika's organization is sales-oriented with several target market pillars and sales channels that follow up on these changes and provide the opportunity to override the waves. “Our company’s basic goal is to provide tangible, innovative, lasting and sustainable solutions for builders and industrial producers. The core business areas that Sika has always had, like Concrete technology, Roofing and Waterproofing, have continuously been supplemented by new areas, like our Building Finishing portfolio, that today, Sika is able to cover all fields of construction chemistry.

New portfolios are continuously joining in and making the company suitable to weather these ups and downs.”

From site to shelf One of the company’s focus directions is the acquisition of commercial partners through which Sika can supply customers directly, rather than only serving the industry. “This ‘site-to-shelf’ approach means that we are present not only in the areas of industry w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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and large construction projects but we also have a very serious role in sales to the general end-users with a focused portfolio of tile adhesives, sealing and bonding, and waterproofing,” he adds.

New challenges András Berecz, who has been with Sika for over 20 years, stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic is a new challenge for everyone. “The current pandemic situation cannot really be analyzed successfully but, of course, we have a plan – and a team with full commitment to tackle any problems that may arise in the construction and machinery industries. It is important to find new opportunities on the market.”

Educating customers Sika Hungária not only sells products and solutions to its customers but it also has an academy to instruct in their application.

“Besides general training sessions, it is a very important part of our sustainability efforts to educate our partners about the use of new technologies. In addition, there are application engineering issues for simpler use: they help customers utilize the beneficial characteristics of the materials we supply. It is now a common practice that we provide training

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for our partners in multiple areas – even in the framework of roadshows throughout the country. In the current pandemic situation, our training activities have gained even more ground and we have joined the trend of online education. We have launched two webinar series. The first seven sessions have been about tile adhesives, underlayment, waterproofing and wood floor bonding – basically covering the areas of sales activities we have through commercial partners. The second part will be about the engineering and

For companies in – or related to – the construction industry, sustainability is a key word. András Berecz is glad to say that the topic in this respect has long been the sustainable development of the company, itself and not only that of its products during their life cycle. “Although, we are first and foremost a sales-oriented organization, sustainability is a fundamental value at Sika and the vast majority of products are developed in the spirit of this principle: the amount of energy used should be minimum, the amount of reused material in the finished products is as high as possible, etc. Every move we make on the market is in a sustainable frame with ‘More Value - Less Impact’ being our basic sustainability strategy.”

He stresses that this strategy applies to products, production, property management, energy consumption, etc. and it includes the reduction of cement content, using less water, energy savings, repair and insulation but also small things like the elimination of plastic bottles in Sika offices. One of Sika’s targets is the more than 10% of CO2 emission reduction per ton of products sold. “All these efforts are made with the goal in mind that we should leave a sustainable world to our children and grandchildren,” he says.

Sika Cares As regards the priorities of the company’s corporate social responsibility policy and its related activities in Hungary, the General Manager notes that “the COVID-19 situation has prevented us from organizing several events that bring our workers together but we are carrying on with the ‘Sika Cares’ program by collecting mobile phones for the Jane Goodall foundation (for their coltan content, the mining of which endangers wildlife in Africa), participating in the renovation of kindergartens and the refurbishment of school bathrooms to help local governments with fewer resources (like the school in Iszkaszentgyörgy, SW of Budapest), including the provision of supply for these renovations. We also planned voluntary work, but the pandemic canceled such personal participation programs – we hope that this can take place in the fall.”

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swiss focus for us but from the ecological point of view it is good for the environment,” he adds.

New trend László Bakonyi has been in this business for over a quarter-of-a-century, as Btech was established 28 years ago, and its main profile in the past 15-20 years has been selling Swiss watches. “Earlier, we were selling Swiss and fashion watches with the majority buying the latter. Then, the trend began to shift towards Swiss watches as people began to realize the importance of quality and appreciate Swiss technology. As for fashion trends, the problem we see is not with the competition but with a new segment, that of the smart watches.

Here at Btech we don’t feel its impact, yet, but on a global level, it is becoming a major threat on the market, especially as the Y and Z generations appear on the market as clients.

Swiss watchmakers have finally heeded the call of the times and this December, Tissot will debut with its own smart watch. I have always told our Swiss manufacturing partners that the only two firms that would be able to halt the global domination of smart watches are Swatch and Tissot. They have the brand, the image and the distribution chain to be able to do that.”

Correct partners

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for top brand Swiss watches fell significantly. László Bakonyi, the owner and General Manager of Btech Hungary Ltd., the market leader in the wholesale of watches (and in retail under the name BL Óraszalon) in Hungary in terms of turnover, number of employees, product portfolio and number of shops, explains to Diplomacy&Trade how they have weathered the crisis.

The entire watch industry in Switzerland was shaken by this virus. Data show that all in all, the number of wrist watches sold on the top 30 markets fell by 35.7 % between January and June, which includes the recovery period. Without the latter, the decrease was around 90%. In the Hungarian market, Swiss watch export to this country fell by 54% in the first half of 2020.

“We are selling a luxury product – and this is not the time for selling luxury items,” the General Manager says, adding that the situation was quite scary for his companies, as well. “When shops were ordered to close, we could not do anything about it: sales stalled. We tried to shift business to online but that is not the best platform for

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luxury items: in online sales, it is basically only the price that counts and we did not wish to move in such direction. Our strategy is not selling as many as possible as quickly as possible but rather building the brands we represent.”

What can be done?

Although, the volume of BL Óraszalon’s online sales doubled, it did not make up for the turnover losses of the 19 shops they operate. László Bakonyi turned himself into a crisis manager. The first problem was that no one had any idea of how long this lockdown situation would last. As President of the Hong Kong Hungary Business Association, he even tried to gather first-hand information from Hong Kong – which, along with China, is one of the most

Adapting to the situation As to effects of the epidemic, so far, the General Manager believes “the biggest issue here is uncertainty. If there is a government order to close down non-essential shops, you can’t do much about it. We need to see whether it is going to be viable to shift business to online platform, if need be. I would prefer not to as that would make it difficult to perform our role as a distributor and agent of worldrenowned Swiss watch brands. We would have to decide if that fits into our long-term strategy of representing these manufacturers.

Of course, it could prove to be a short-term survival strategy but it would definitely not good for the image of the given brand.”

He stresses that Btech will provide for the safety of their customers. “As wholesalers, we help our partners with flexible and loyal business attitudes.

Regarding the future, we have to be cautious as wholesalers, while as a retail business we have to do our best to increase our market role as much as possible. The retail market is likely to be struggling and the crisis is expected take its toll with businesses going bust. Shopping centers have shown different behaviors towards clients regarding rent payments during the lockdown period and have settled these issues with tenants in different ways.

So, there will definitely be changes in the retail market that we have to prepare for. What I can promise is that we will adapt to the situation quickly – whatever that situation may be.”

It’s Tissot time Tissot, a brand that Btech represents is one of the top five Swiss watch makers. László Bakonyi believes the COVID-19 crisis favors the sale of Tissot products. This is the time when people reconsider their expenses and buy a less expensive watch, but still a luxury brand. Last year, Btech opened a Tissot brand shop in one of the shopping centers in Budapest and the sales results have been very favorable. “It is a very good flagship brand shop,” he says. BL Óraszalon managed to re-open its shops from the middle of May and now, all 19 shops await customers.

The General Manager is glad to say that the overall turnover is well above his expectations: sales fell by 30% ‘only’. This means that his companies managed to survive the crisis and “we are in the phase of rebuilding the business.

Of course, a possible second wave could change things… I always tell my colleagues: let’s do everything we can, the rest is not up to us.”

An interesting development is that the servicing business of watches has seen an increase. “It seems many people have decided not to buy a new watch but have their old ones repaired.

On the one hand, it is not the best development A U G U S T

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SWISS WATCH MARKET LEADER IN HUNGARY WEATHERS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

important markets for Swiss watches – as well as from chambers from all over Europe. “The signs (basically all luxury shops closed there despite the low mortality rate) were not good. So, we had to react immediately in order to save our workers and the company, itself. We had to make sacrifices by cutting costs (including the lay-off of colleagues), renegotiating contracts since our sales fell to just one percent. I have to point out here that our Swiss suppliers were extremely correct in that situation.”

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ADAPTING TO THE SITUATION

László Bakonyi has vast personal experience in dealing with Swiss businesses. Regarding the most important things one needs to consider when discussing business with a Swiss enterprise, he highlights that “what comes to peoples’ minds about Switzerland is banking, chocolate and time: the Swiss are people of punctuality. My experience is that they are correct, reliable, not hasty, persistent, professional and loyal. They expect the same from their foreign partners. I love working with them. Of course, they, like everyone else, have their expectations.”

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society New Ambassadors Four new ambassadors presented their credentials to Hungarian President János Áder this July (pictured from left to right): Johannes Konrad Haindl (Federal Republic of Germany), Jorge Ayres Roza De Oliveira (Republic of Portugal), Nada Kruger (Republic of Namibia) and Yousuf Ahmed Hamed Aljabri (Sultanate of Oman).

National Unity Day

LILLA LENDVAI/MEXICAN EMBASSY BUDAPEST, NOÉMI BRUZÁK/MTI, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

The Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Hungary, Ahmet Akif Oktay invited guests for a reception to the Library of Eötvös Lóránd University in Budapest this July to celebrate the recently introduced national day of his country, the ‘Democracy and National Unity Day of Turkey’.

Frida Kahlo Memorial Concert

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The Mexican Embassy in Budapest hosted a 'Viva la Vida' garden concert in early July to honor the world renowned artist Frida Kahlo with the participation of the music ensemble ‘Volver la Vida’. Introduced to the over 80 attendees

by Ambassador Dávid Nájera, the concert also served to celebrate the Embassy resuming its cultural activities after a pause caused by the pandemic. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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witty leaks FOUR YEARS IN BUDAPEST AND 40 IN DIPLOMACY

in international affairs, create trust and peace.

It is much easier and quicker to destroy it all.

I regard Saddam Hussein’s attack on Kuwait in 1990 as such a destructive moment, which detracted attention from a much larger issue, namely, how to work with and integrate a rapidly changing Soviet Union. Being on the UN desk in our Oslo ministry, I had, at close hand, seen how, from about 1988, Soviet leaders and diplomats would talk and act in international fora – almost like us.

I had big hopes that together with a changed USSR, we would be able to effectively tackle all sorts of challenges, ranging from Middle East peace issues, the environment and climate, to poverty reduction, health and progress for everybody. In 1990, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe was adopted. It was a period of great expectations, a new era of democracy, peace and unity as decreed by the charter. And then Saddam, in my view, caused us to weaken our attention directed at the future of Europe and the Soviet Union.

Luckily attention was not totally lost. I remember a question on our side whether we should propose a kind of massive new Marshall aid to Russia and the others. However, most NATO allies felt that with their huge natural resources, industrial and agricultural potential, the new independent states should easily be able to finance their own transition and development, with some technical assistance from our side. The USA was in the lead, among many things helping Russia to increase its oil production (to earn hard currency) and reform agriculture (to reduce costs of importing food).

The EU implemented a comprehensive program called TACIS. Personally, I saw at close hand how successfully Norway could work with new Russia, even on such sensitive issues as nuclear safety, the dismantling of old Soviet nuclear submarines and handling of plutonium. We approached the issues as technical and practical tasks without any hidden agenda and managed to build considerable trust.

We ensured that Russian secret services were comfortable with the way we did this, also involving the EU, USA and other international partners.

70 % of my professional life has been dedicated to issues related to Russia and the post-Soviet space. A Russia, which now has turned away from partnership with the West, is a definite loss to all of us.

If I am asked about any errors of judgement I have committed, I would mention the skepticism which I had with regard to early NATO membership for Poland, the Baltic states and others, including Hungary. NATO is a values-based partnership and I thought that EU-membership should come first in order to solidify democracy, the rule of law, etc. I was also concerned that NATO membership might send an unintended signal to Russia, where large parts of the population have negative feelings about NATO. But European history clearly shows that stability cannot be achieved by surrounding powerful players with smaller, weak states and ‘zones of influence’. I now firmly believe that extending our collective security guarantees to up till now 14 new members has been the right, stabilizing decision to make.

AMBASSADOR BERSTAD IS LEAVING HUNGARY AFTER FOUR YEARS IN THE HUNGARIAN CAPITAL

BY THE AMBASSADOR OF NORWAY, OLAV BERSTAD

I have now over 40 years of diplomatic service behind me, continuously since 1980. I was very pleased to be posted as ambassador to Budapest. Central Europe has – and continues to play – an important role in European life and history. Hungary is a brilliant example of a country, which stood up against the great post-war divide in Europe and liberated itself thirty years ago.

I will, of course, think back on the corona crisis and the recent months of lock-down in Hungary – and the generally strong-handed Hungarian policies.

Hungary unfortunately appears at the center of many controversies. Many have concerns about Hungary’s decline on important international rankings, like media freedom and rule of law. But I will remember also the rich and pleasant life as a diplomat here. For instance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade organized trips to different parts of the country. You get to see the best, of culture, landscape, industry etc., complementing your own professional and private travels around Hungary. And Hungarian wine and cuisine! I have become a great fan of simple gulyásleves topped with spicy green paprika (certainly softened by a shot of pálinka). Our family has gotten to know Hungarian sports, particularly figure skating. Our small daughter, Katrine performs well under professional Hungarian trainers.

Ups and downs My predecessor served in a period of bilateral political friction in 2014-15 over the management of the Norway and EEA grants in Hungary. I have been more fortunate. Still, we lack agreement with Hungary on the 2014-21 cycle of grants, but that has not significantly affected my tenure here, although I regret the loss of opportunities.

More than EUR 200 million is awaiting use, enough – perhaps – to almost double the already estimated 1,400 small and large projects implemented in Hungary under this scheme since 2004, many with a Norwegian partner.

Budapest gave me two ‘invitations’ to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to receive a notice of displeasure. Most recently, in May, with my Nordic colleagues in Budapest over our governments’ concerns with regard to the Hungarian corona emergency legislation. And in 2017, I was reprimanded for having commented critically on the ‘Say no to Brussels’ campaign.

These were not pleasant episodes, but – in fact, I regard both as a bonus to my CV….

I think Norway is on secure footing when it

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KATRINE (8) WITH HER COACH, HUNGARY'S FIRST EUROPEAN FIGURE SKATING CHAMPION, JÚLIA SEBESTYÉN

comes to relations with Hungary. We emphasize dialogue, knowledge and partnership over theory and passion. Hungary’s membership in NATO and in the EU and European Economic Area are strong foundations of cooperation.

1956 also has a special place in the minds of Norwegians. I myself had a Hungarian refugee as teacher in German and gymnastics in junior high school. Henrik Ibsen in 1849 at the age of 21 wrote a poem to the heroic Hungarian freedom fighters. Hungary’s fate

has also been a lesson to the Norwegians and has helped our knowledge of Europe’s reactionary and darker forces. In 2020, we mark 100 years of diplomatic relations. We planted a tree in the Castle district. Hopefully it will grow strong, like Norway and Hungary.

Looking back at four decades in diplomacy If I am asked what I have learnt after 40 years in Norwegian diplomacy, one thing is certain. It takes time to build, change things, foster progress A U G U S T

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IN THIS SERIES, DIPLOMATS SHARE PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF THEIR EXPERIENCES ON “EXCURSIONS” into Hungarian culture, art, gastronomy & scenery.

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what's on SIMPLY RED: BLUE EYED TOUR DECEMBER 1, 2021, BUDAPEST ARENA

THOMAZ FARKAS: THE RHYTHM OF LIGHT UNTIL AUGUST 23 CAPA CENTER

www.livenation.hu

ORIENTALE LUMEN CONCERT – BIZANTIAN NEW YEAR (INDIKTION)

INVISIBLE EXHIBITION

OPEN YEAR-ROUND, MILLENÁRIS, BUILDING B

SEPTEMBER 4, INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH

Imagine that all the lights go out! The Invisible Exhibition is a special, interactive hour-long journey into an invisible world where in pitch-black you can try to find your way exclusively through touching hearing and smelling. If you visit the exhibition you can experience what it is like to live without the sense that provides you with the most information, your eyesight. Moreover, how losing one sense strengthens your other senses! In this exhibition blind and vision-impaired guides accompany you in an adventure that will alter your perspective permanently. Trust in them blindly. The aim of the exhibition is to bring the world of the blind and the sighted closer to each other and to to teach visitors through positive experiences how to understand and assist blind people.

The exhibition presents different life situations so visitors can learn how to get by in the busy streets, how to pay for a cup of coffee in a bar and how to recognize different spices and veggies at the groceries. There is a visible section, too, where visitors can see and try the tools that blind people use daily. Tours in foreign languages start on the basis of registration therefore it is required the pre-book an appointment. www.lathatatlan.hu

The St. Ephrem Men's Choir has been organizing the Orientale lumen series since 2011, where the most beautiful compositions of Christian church music of Eastern rite are performed in the interpretation of internationally known soloists and star ensembles. September 1 has been the first day of the new church year in the Eastern Church since the 4th century.

During the concert, performers will recall works of Christian music related to renewal, the 'new man'. At the concert, one of the best-known representatives of Hungarian choral culture, the multi-award winning, internationally recognized Pro Musica Girls' Choir, will be the guest of the St. Ephrem Men's Choir, led by Dénes Szabó. www.szentefrem.hu

TUNED IN – THE COMING TOGETHER OF THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE 70-YEAR-OLD BUDAPEST PUPPET THEATER

The Capa Center presents the first comprehensive exhibition in Hungary of the Hungarian born and celebrated Brazilian photographer Thomaz Farkas (1924– 2011). The exhibition is part of the Budapest Photo Festival. Thomaz Farkas is considered to be one of the great representatives of modern photography and documentary cinema in Brazil. He left behind a unique artistic oeuvre, particularly contributing to the representation of Brazilian culture and establishing a visual approach that relates him to important exponents of his time.

‘The Rhythm of Light’ includes highlights from his photographic works from the 1940s and the end of the 1950s as well as some of his most important documentary films from the same period. Blowups of his contact sheets offer an intimate insight into his photographic approach and the delicate balance between split-seconds and stretched moments in time. Farkas was undoubtedly a multitalented man with a dynamic character, who lived and worked with great intensity and engagement. While being mostly known for his photographic and cinematic work, his legacy reaches far beyond these roles as he was also a producer, an academic, an entrepreneur and a cultural agent.

His works are represented in important collections, such as the MoMA in New York and Tate Modern in London. www.capacenter.hu

TUTANKHAMUN MYSTERY AND TREASURES

HUNGARIAN NATIONAL GALLERY

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Budapest Puppet Theater, the Hungarian National Gallery will display puppets that define and represent the past and present of the Puppet Theater, bringing to life the much-loved figures of well-known stories, folk tales and legends. The exhibited figures that shaped the fine art image of the Puppet Theater the most in the past seventy years, were selected from more than 20,000 puppets kept in the storage of the Puppet Theater, which makes this show truly special. For some of the puppets this exhibition is their public debut, while others have been restored specifically for this show with the hope that they will be featured in other temporary exhibitions in the future. Of the dramatic arts, puppetry has the strongest link with the visual arts since the characters – the puppets themselves – are works of fine art. Puppet design is an applied art genre since the puppets are made to suit the director’s concept, the story and the hands of the actors. However, it is also an autonomous genre creating a world of its own and shaping the appearance of the characters through the imagination, taste and style of the designer. The acting life of a puppet lasts only as long as the play in which it is brought to life, but it can be admired as a work of fine art even decades after its last appearance on stage. The puppets are exhibited in the spaces of the Hungarian National Gallery’s collections of 19th and 20th Century Paintings, Contemporary Arts and International Art after 1800, in a way that they can each engage in a dialogue with a painting, allowing the two genres to comment on each other atmospherically or historically. www.mng.hu

UNTIL OCTOBER 31, KOMPLEX

Travel back in time and discover the life of the cursed Pharaoh! ‘Tutankhamun – Mystery and Treasures’ is a traveling exhibition that has been viewed by more than 6 million people in Zurich, Dublin, Brussels, Madrid, Seoul and Paris. “I see beautiful things!” exclaimed British archaeologist Howard Carter as he lit a candle through a small hole in the forepart of the Pharaoh's tomb. The Pharaoh, had been dead for more than 3,000 years when Carter made an archaeological discovery that is unmatched to this day. He found a completely undamaged tomb of a Pharaoh with all his treasures. Almost 100 years after the sensational exploration, the ‘Tutankhamun – Mystery and Treasures’ exhibition presents the story of the discovery in a unique way, on 2,000 m2 showcasing over 1,000 objects, graphics and videos. “For the first time since the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, this is an exhibition that allows people to rediscover treasures and funerary items in the exact layout as they were found in 1922,” reveals Dr Wilfried Seipel, Egyptologist and former director of the Vienna Museum of Fine Arts. www.tut-kiallitas.hu

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LIVE NATION, INVISIBLE EXHIBITION, DOMONKOS ORBÁN/ODPICTURES, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - HUNGARIAN NATIONAL GALLERY, INAUGURATION DAY OF THE CITY - BRASÍLIA - 21 APRIL 1960/THOMAZ FARKAS ESTATEINSTITUTO MOREIRA, THEO O. KRATH

Simply Red is an English soul-pop band from Manchester, currently consisting of frontman and songwriter Mick Hucknall, alongside Ian Kirkham, Dave Clayton, Kenji Suzuki, Kevin Robinson, Steve Lewinson and Pete Lewinson. Formed in 1985, the band is known for songs such as Angel, Fairground, Holding Back The Years, If You Don’t Know Me By Now, and The Air That I Breathe, among many others. They've sold over 50 million albums worldwide and picked up many an award, including two consecutive BRITs for Best British Group. After a brief hiatus, Simply Red returned in 2019 with a new album, 'Blue Eyed Soul'.

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culture CREATING A ‘BOMBASTIC’ MAIN THEME INTERVIEW WITH PLACIDO DOMINGO JR.

Placido Domingo Jr. is in the Hungarian capital working on his new composition. As he announced on social media this July, he had a “fantastic recording session for the Virtuózok main theme!”

The theme was composed by the younger Domingo himself and orchestrated by maestro Sergio Kuhlmann.

Diplomacy&Trade caught up with the composer to talk about his work in Budapest.

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Placido Domingo Jr. developed a passion for music from an early age. Asked what attracts him to this art, he recalled that “I grew up with music. Since I was very little, I have listened to opera from the age of two years old. My parents used to take me to rehearsals, to performances, so, sometimes, I would fall asleep in the theater, but sometimes I would enjoy the music. I started to play the piano by ear, I did not learn music until I was very much older. I played the piano for my father and for my grandparents and started to develop a love for music. I was not a good student of music, I played more with my heart and then, my father said “now, you need to learn music!”

Composing for famous singers He has written songs for artists like Michael Bolton, Sarah Brightman, José Carreras, Diana Ross or Luciano Pavarotti, among others. When asked what feedback he has received from such renowned singers that helped promote his songwriting career, he points out that it is always a good presentation, like a business card, when all these great artists are in your curriculum vitae. “These were all projects that required new compositions: sometimes they were ‘Three Tenors’ concerts, sometimes they were ‘Christmas in Vienna’ events.

Since I had already done a few songs for my father, these people had heard and liked the music, and they wanted original material besides normal Christmas carols; they wanted some original music. Again, cooperation with these personalities look good on my business card. I remember that Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras were both very happy with the songs that I came up with for the ‘Three Tenors’, Michael Bolton was also very happy with a composition I wrote for my father. I'm sure that if they had not liked it they would have said so – they can afford to do so.”

Recognizing the authors When hearing a song, people tend to recognize the performer and the author’s contribution (music, lyrics) is many times little known and appreciated by the public. The reaction of Placido Domingo Jr. to this issue is that “we have a lot of generations of songwriters who are singers themselves, which is very good. However, from the past, people remember more the singer and the tune. When people buy a CD, not many of them actually look at the back side to see who the authors are. As a matter of fact, I have an interesting anecdote from the time when I met Michael Bolton. He wrote a very nice ballad many years ago ‘How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?’.

It was originally recorded by a woman, a very famous artist, Laura Branigan A U G U S T

who did a pop version. Michael recorded it himself and I told him that I liked his version better and asked who wrote it. ‘I did’, he said with a smile, adding that he did not mind Laura singing it because that earned him money. It was my mistake of not knowing he was the author as I had never looked that up… So, it is a little frustrating sometimes that people remember the song and the performing artist but they do not know who the composer is.”

Not so much a singer Placido Domingo Jr. is also a singer, but he says that is more like a hobby for him. “I never studied it, I just opened my mouth and I sang. However, my father wanted to help me because I did some demo songs. He wanted to learn some songs from a John Paul II album we did (Amore finito) and said “go into the studio and record for me, also. I want you to understand the feeling.” So, he heard my adult recorded voice and he said ‘you know, you sing pretty well, you should try singing’, and I said ‘me, no, no, you’re the singer!’ and then, he said, ‘O.K. but you sing in a totally different style’.

Then, one day, it was actually in Mexico in 2009, he just pushed me to the stage with like half a million people in the audience. Slowly, I started losing my fear… You know, I was scared looking at the microphone, not wanting to look at anybody, you know. Nowadays, I am 2 0 2 0

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more comfortable on stage but at that time… Still, I have to emphasize, I never studied singing – my profession is the composition of music.”

However, as a musician, he explains how opera singers can venture into pop and rock music so easily like a Polish mezzo soprano did at a recent concert. “It is how you treat the voice. Opera singers, if they use less power, and they do not use so much the head voice but more chest voice, they can sing lower, not such high notes; but still make a beautiful sound. They have the breath, beautifully breathing the line and the color of the voice (that is, tones and nuances one can achieve emotionally through singing) is very nice. Many opera singers have a beautiful color when they do not have to give all the power. It is not so the other way: pop singers cannot sing opera.”

Working on a longer piece Back to the topic of his presence in Budapest and his cooperation with ‘Virtuosos’, Placido Domingo Jr. stresses that part of his job at this present invitation is also to prepare a longer piece that his father will conduct for the show here in Hungary – a longer piece based on the main theme. Looking further ahead, Mariann Peller says it would be nice if he could sit on the jury of a future Spanish version of this television talent show.

The composer’s reply to that is simple: “I’ll be happy to do that.”

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Virtuózok (‘Virtuosos’) is a classical music television talent show developed in Hungary and launched in 2014.

For this year’s series, the creator of the show’s concept, Mariann Peller asked Placido Domingo Jr. to compose a new theme. “I wanted to create something bombastic and heroic, you know, I wanted it to be something of a noble theme almost like Hollywood! Maestro Kuhlmann was fantastic with the orchestration and he helped me arrange it. I wanted to come up with a melody and a motif that had a lot of powerful repetition and one that could be used many times with multiple rhythms.

You will hear the same motif many times, I wanted it to be almost like a movie. For the moment, you have to wait to hear it because it will be public in November only,” he says.

As regards his relationship with Virtuosos, the composer stresses that “my father had been very involved with Virtuosos as was our friend and assistant Nicholas Marco. They have known each other and Mariann for many years. They were looking for a theme for the new season. I believe my father suggested to Mariann that I could probably do a good job and that is what I am trying to do.”

Music as family tradition

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BY SÁNDOR LACZKÓ

PLACIDO DOMINGO JR. WITH THE PRODUCER OF THE VIRTUOSOS SHOW, MARIANN PELLER

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When it comes to drinking wine in the summer, most people look for something zesty and refreshing. Sparkling wine is perfect for quenching your thirst on a hot summer day, bringing cool relief instantly. So, if you’re throwing a party, don’t forget to order a few bottles or more!

wine

SPARKLE IN THE SUMMER!

BUBBLES IN YOUR ETYEK WINE

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In Hungary, all sparkling wines with bubbles produced through a second fermentation are called ‘pezsgő.’

However, there is more than one way to produce bubbles through a second fermentation.

Sparkling wine can be made in tanks, but it is also possible to ferment and age them in larger bottles and rack the wines later into bottles of regular size. The most respected way of producing sparkling wines is the traditional method. This is the way champagne in France, cava in Spain and other prestigious sparkling wines around the world are made. The still wine suitable for sparkling wine production goes through the various stages of vinification in the very same bottle that ends up on our tables ready for consumption. Hungary has witnessed a sparkling wine revolution in the last ten years.

Practically all Hungarian wine regions have at least one winery producing sparkling wines these days. This is still a relatively new category and it obviously requires a different mindset and technological know-how from winemakers used to producing traditional still wines. This might explain why there is so much experimentation going on. Winemakers are still looking for the most suitable local and international grape varieties and that is just one of the many issues that needs to be dealt with in order to arrive at the desired sparkling wine style.

Where to start exploring the Hungarian sparkling wine scene? Etyek is an excellent 2020. 07. 30. 18:05:20 starting point as this is where one of the

largest producers in Hungary is located but it is also the home to many smaller family wineries that have recently taken up sparkling wine production. At Hernyák Estate, the first low volume sparkling wine was made in 2010.

“Following the political changes in Eastern Europe, it took us two decades to accumulate the experience necessary to craft top quality still wines and then make our way towards producing sparkling wines. For us this was

a logical direction to take as it practically meant returning to our roots,” says Tamás Hernyák of Hernyák Estate. Before the First World War the region was a major player in sparkling wine production. With its 2 million bottle annual production it was second only to France.

Sparkling wine production was introduced there in the 19th century because the cool climate and the calcareous soil is an exact match for the conditions found in the famed Champagne region.

It was Champagne where Tamás Hernyák travelled to study in order to acquire the viticultural and enological knowledge required to craft top quality sparkling wines and their work is assisted and monitored by a renowned Champagne winemaker. “We have made great progress in this field since the early days. The volume of the currently available 2016 vintage is 6000 bottles but with the upcoming harvest our target is 10000 bottles. If we can meet our target then for the first time sparkling wine production will overtake still wine production at our winery. There is no doubt in our minds that this is the road we have to take, this is where our future lies. It helps a lot to know that we are not alone heading in this direction; there are 12 more Etyek wineries that share our philosophy.

One of the results of this joint commitment is a new AOC sparkling wine category. The first AOC sparkling wines will be launched in 2023.”

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gastronomy

SLOVENIA, THE NEW CULINARY DESTINATION IN EUROPE

Uroš Štefelin It has always been my one and only passion, to be honest. In my second life, I would choose the same profession.

DIPLOMACY&TRADE What is your signature dish, if there’s one?

Uroš Štefelin It is a forgotten dish from my home village Kropa (which is an iron forging village), called ŽONTA. It is a veal liver dish.

You have to cook it a really long time to be perfect. Its smell reminds me of my childhood.

INTERVIEW WITH MICHELIN-STAR CHEF UROŠ ŠTEFELIN

DIPLOMACY&TRADE The success story of the star-studded Slovenian gastronomy came at a time when tourism is facing one of its biggest crises to date. Would you call the timing ‘the best’?

DIPLOMACY&TRADE Where

Uroš Štefelin The time is always the best.

These awards further motivate us, especially in difficult times, to face challenges.

do you get your inspiration?

Uroš Štefelin From nature, from forests and fields, which I love exploring while horseback riding.

DIPLOMACY&TRADE Researchers at the

DIPLOMACY&TRADE In recent years, the

Bordeaux Business School have found that in order to maintain the perceived standards of the Michelin guide, restaurants often feel the need to invest significantly in things like service and décor, sometimes straining the business itself.

Now that you have received the Michelin star, will you introduce any changes at Vila Podvin?

world’s most renowned chefs have reached celebrity status. In Hungary, some of the Michelin-star chefs are featured in TV shows, and different adverts and promotions. Are you planning to participate in similar activities?

Uroš Štefelin I have already been featured in TV shows, our master chef for children program was running on TV for 2 seasons, and I also promote different kitchen aids. My restaurant is famous for a culinary school, especially for children aged 4-12, and workshops thru which I promote healthy and seasonal, local food, and raise the reputation of the hospitality industry as a career, demonstrating the beauty of cooking.

We also offer gastronomic diplomacy programs: we have cooked at embassies in China and the U.S., and promoted Slovenian gastronomy in different places, for instance here, in Budapest.

Uroš Štefelin We have received the star for our achievements in the past year. For the future, I won’t introduce any significant changes. Quality will remain at the top of our priority list. We will continue offering traditional lunch to locals. Local people are the heart and soul of Vila Podvin, they are our regulars who deserve the best.

DIPLOMACY&TRADE With each

Slovenia has reached the most significant culinary milestone this summer. For the first time in history, six Slovenian restaurants have received Michelin stars. In addition, the country that is often referred to as a ’food lovers’ paradise’ for its delicious blend of tastes from the Alps, the Mediterranean and the Pannonian Plain, will take over the title of European Region of Gastronomy in 2021. Diplomacy&Trade asks chef Uroš Štefelin about the ‘starry future’ of Slovenian gastronomy.

DIPLOMACY&TRADE Hungary and Slovenia

Uroš Štefelin Our country offers plenty of special ingredients giving Slovenian chefs a big playground to be creative in. This small country has three very different climate regions and an abundance of unspoiled nature. Exploring

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Uroš Štefelin Slovenia is often defined as ‘a place where gastronomic diversity and local tastes meet, for good reason.’ Slovenia is unspoiled, green, every house has a vegetable garden, and with 49 dialects it is very diverse country that boasts influence of different cultures and cuisines.

local ingredients and traditions makes us more confident and proud of our cuisine that respects nature and seasonal changes. In my restaurant Vila Podvin (located in Alps) even the Piran sea bass counts as local – I can get it in two hours.

SEVEN STARS

To restaurant Hiša Franko, led by chef Ana Roš, an exceptional 2 Michelin stars were given at once, while 5 restaurants received their first stars: in addition to Vila Podvin, Pri Lojzetu (Chef: Tomaž Kavčič), Dam Restaurant (Chef: Uroš Fakuč), Hiša Denk (Chef: Gregor Vračko) and Restaurant Atelje (Chef: Jorg Zupan). Six other Slovenian chefs and restaurants have received the Michelin Sustainability Award that highlights the industry role models of sustainable gastronomy.

DIPLOMACY&TRADE How did you become a chef?

MICHELIN’S REVIEW ON VILA PODVIN IN RADOVLJICA

This old stable is now home to an elegant restaurant with rooms, where a shady garden offers the perfect setting for a romantic dinner or a drink in summer. The dining room has a modern feel which is slightly offset by the traditional brickvaulted ceiling. With its roots in the local region, chef Uroš Štefelin’s cuisine evokes memories and emotions, full of flavors which stimulate the senses. Always cooked perfectly, to exactly the right temperature, and astutely seasoned, many of the dishes here are made from zero-mile ingredients.

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

called the ‘Green heart of Europe,’ for its unmatched natural scenery and assets. How does this affect the country’s gastronomy culture in terms of ingredients?

Slovenia as a culinary destination to someone who has never visited the country?

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DIPLOMACY&TRADE Slovenia is often

DIPLOMACY&TRADE How would you sell

Uroš Štefelin We feel the increase of the business already, and I believe it will grow further, following the pandemic.

Nowadays, we are open from Friday to Sunday as we insist on having enough free time for recreation and peace, to have more energy and creativity when we need it. Interestingly enough, even under these conditions, it is difficult to find skilled and devoted employees.

now feature the exact number and proportion of Michelin stars, however, there is one huge difference: in Hungary, only restaurants based in the capital city have so far received stars.

Can you give a some advice to Hungarian chefs who work in the countryside?

Uroš Štefelin The best way to promote the country’s heart and soul is to form a strong cooperation between restaurants, local farmers, local artists, local schools, all in all: local people.

A restaurant, especially in the countryside, has the ability to make its surroundings flourish and develop as a tourism destination. I believe restaurants in the countryside have bigger potential in terms of sources and ingredients: they just need to explore their own neighborhoods, including the forests, the lakes and the farms.

additional star awarded, restaurants often see an incremental increase in business. Joël Robuchon, who holds the title of being awarded the most Michelin stars in the world, broke it down like this: “With one Michelin star, you get about 20 percent more business. Two stars, you do about 40 percent more business, and with three stars, you’ll do about 100 percent more business. So, from a business point ... you can see the influence of the Michelin guide.” What are your predictions for Vila Podvin in terms of business growth?

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gastronomy

Ice-cream today is available in every imaginable flavor from tobacco to beer or bacon.

Read on to find out the origins of this popular summer dessert.

SOME LIKE IT COLD THE PAST AND PRESENT OF ICE-CREAM According to legend, like porcelain and gunpowder, ice-cream is a Chinese invention. More than 3,000 years ago the first ’ice-cream’ was made of snow and spices.

Snow found its way to European tables as well. Heliogabadus, the Roman emperor is said to have ordered his soldiers to bring him snow from the mountains. According to chronicles, he was very fat, and believed the cool sweet helped him avoid heart failure. Bellon, a French traveler in 1533 talked about a Constantinople custom: snow and ice was kept frozen year

around and used for cool sherbet, a Turkish specialty. Bellon imported this custom to his home, however it was decades before ice-cream became popular in France. Italy was quicker, where the first ice-creams were made by Procope Couteaux, who invented a method to make artificial ice.

Ice-cream in Hungary In the 18th century, ice-cream was already popular. In those years ice-cream machines were hand-powered: the machine had

to be swung continuously to maintain the correct consistency.

Ice was brought from the frozen Balaton or from rivers and was stored in special holes, covered with hay. “In the mind of Hungarians, ice-cream is connected to sunshine; when the weather gets cold, their enthusiasm seems to fall,” says ice-cream master Niki Szökrön. According to her, in terms of ice-cream, Hungarians intend to put quantity before quality.

They like huge, densely decorated amounts, the so-called ‘Albanian-style’ ice-cream which is artificially boosted with aromas and additives. One can, of course, find great quality, artisan ice-creams too, both in Budapest and in the countryside.

To promote high-quality handicraft ice cream made in a classic and traditional way, the National Confederation of Hungarian Confectionery Craftsmen organizes an annual competition named “Ice-cream of the Year”. At the latest competition, the jury chose the ‘Passion Caramel’ ice-cream, created by Norbert Dobó from Gyenesdiás, as winner of the year 2020, while the ‘Treasure of Modena’ created by Andrea Koncz from the Füredi Ice Cream Parlor in Balatonfüred, received a bronze medal, and Norbert Dobó’s ‘Turkish Honey Vanilla’ won a silver medal.

PARIS BUDAPEST BUSINESS

NATIONAL CONFEDERATE OF HUNGARIAN CONFECTIONER

LUNCH EVERY WEEKDAY 12PM - 6PM

2-Course Menu

3-Course Menu

3400 HUF* 4100 HUF* The price INCLUDES one bottle of water and coffee or tea.

The price includes the VAT. 12% service charge will be addedto your bill!.

Paris Budapest Restaurant 1051 Budapest Széchenyi tér 2.

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+36 1 235 1230 www.parisbudapest.hu

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