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KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT:

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE THE 3RD HUNGARY – LATIN AMERICA FORUM PROVIDED A UNIQUE OCCASION FOR PARTICIPANTS TO EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES AND IDENTIFY NEW OPPORTUNITIES. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION WERE THE FORWARD-LOOKING THEMES. SEE MORE on pages 28-31

Finland

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“Traditional Finnish-Hungarian relations have been important not only in terms of culture and cultural exchange but it has also had a very big impact on economic, political and social life.” This according to the Ambassador of Finland to Hungary, Petri TuomiNikula who talks to Diplomacy&Trade on the occasion of his country celebrating the 100th anniversary of its independence. He also discusses how Finnish investments utilize the hands, the minds of Hungarians and the fertile soil of their country.

Located on the new promenade of Budapest, within walking distance from Andrássy Road, a Word Heritage Site, is an exclusive jeweller’s shop. Offering exquisite, unique designs on two floors, the store awaits customers of discerning taste right in the middle of the bustling cultural atmosphere around St. Stephen’s Basilica, where the historical inner city meets the modern bank district.

see articles on pages 8-16

Italy’s ‘Recognizable Voice’ This November, the Hungarian audience once again had the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful voice of the world-renowned Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli. In an exclusive interview, he tells Diplomacy&Trade about his hometown, his childhood, the ‘beauty civilization’ of Italy, his ‘Time to Say Good-bye’ duet with Sarah Brightman and even his wine-making family. see page 22

1051 Bp. Október 6. St. 6.

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letter from the publisher

Twelve strange Christmas customs page 39 from around the world.

contents Italy’s renowned gastronomy expert talks about the values of page 24 Southern Italian cuisine.

05 ON THE RECORD 06-07 COMPANY BRIEFS 08 DIPLOMACY

Saudi Arabia in the Middle Eastern power games

09 GIFT PAGE 10-16 FINNISH FOCUS

PUBLISHER

AND DON’T FORGET

monthly in print - daily on the web

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Interview with Deputy State Secretary Szilveszter Bus; V4-Brazil meeting; Chile; Argentina; Mexico; Ecuador

32-33 SOCIETY 34 WITTYLEAKS by the Ambassador of Indonesia

Interview with Ambassador Petri Tuomi-Nikula; FinnAgora; Finland 100; NOKIA; Wärtsilä; Finn Wellness 17 ANALYSIS Ten years for Hungary in the Schengen zone

35 FESTIVE SEASON

Marriott; Swiss Business Day

39 GASTRONOMY

18-19 BUSINESS

Peter Freed

28-31 LATIN AMERICA FORUM

20-27 ITALY

Cultural Institute; CIB; Bocelli; Evolutions in gastronomy; Kométa; Prosecco; Pizzaiolo; Week of Italian Cuisine

Gundel restaurant

36-37 WHAT’S ON

Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest

38 WINE

Late harvest wines

Strange Christmas customs; From the cabbage patch…

PUBLISHER: Peter Freed EDITOR: Sándor Laczkó COPY EDITOR: Joyce Freed PHOTO EDITOR: Dávid Harangozó SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR: Tamás Varga DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Tibor Ocsenás ADMINISTRATION: Judit Ludányi ASSISTANT: Ágnes Rapaport CONTRIBUTORS: Sándor Laczkó, Tamás Magyarics, Ágnes Weninger, Verónica Chahin, Maximiliano Cernadas, David Nájera Rivas, María del Carmen González Cabal, Wening Esthyprobo Fatandari PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: 123RF.com (Cover), Pixabay.com, 123RF.com, Dreamstime.com, Shutterstock.com, Ministry for National Economy,

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Municipality of Geresdlak, Olivér Sin/1foto.hu, Embassy of Finland, Studio Runyai, Wärtsilä, Mario Bere/mariobere.com, Tibor Fülöp, Consorzio di PromozioneTuristica Marca Trevisio, Embassy of Indonesia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/Mikhail Metzel, Saudi Tourism Multimedia Library, henninglarsen.com, Wineamore/Piroska Koltai, Embassy of Argentina, Embassy of India, Flagstaffotos.com. au/Wikipedia, Kimberley Hasselbrink, Benedek Sás/benedeksas.com, havas.eu, Róbert Bácsi, Harlem Gospel Choir, Virtuosos, MÜPA, Carlo Allegri/ Reuters, MTI Photos: Zsolt Szigetváry, Balázs Mohai, Zoltán Balogh, Csaba Krizsán, János Vajda, Tibor Illyés, Szilárd Koszticsák, Noémi Bruzák

Diplomacy&Trade will present a special Focus on Australian-Hungarian relations. With the Ambassador of the Fifth Continent to Austria, Dr. Brendon Charles Hammer, who is also accredited to Hungary, we will discuss the bilateral political and economic relations, including the recent visit to Hungary by the Governor-General of Australia, as well as the role of the 73,000 Australians of Hungarian origin living in Australian society. We will also talk to the representative of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. Both Australia and Hungary are responsible members of the international community, cooperating in the United Nations, in missions in Afghanistan, in the fight against ISIS and on different international fora.

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photos by DREAMSTIME.COM, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, PIXABAY.COM

Is it just me or are the years going by faster? Not only has 2017 flown by but Diplomacy&Trade will enter its 15th year of publication in 2018. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the diplomatic community for providing us with the opportunities to explore their international relationships with Hungary and giving us insights into rich cultural experiences that we are able to share with our readers. We are also grateful to our readers, journalists, contributors, supporters and advertisers, as we look forward to future developments from the DT team! The Hungarian government’s opening to new frontiers was reflected this November in the 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum in Budapest. Diplomacy&Trade asked four Latin American ambassadors to share their thoughts with our readers on relations between their respective countries and Hungary (and Europe), while the Deputy State Secretary for the ‘Opening to the South’ policy provides an overview of relations between Hungary and Latin America. The country in focus in this issue of Diplomacy&Trade is Finland as the northern European country celebrates the 100th anniversary of its independence. We talk to Ambassador Petri Tuomi-Nikula about the relations between the two Finno-Ugrian peoples: political and economic ties, cultural and civilian cooperation, including Finnish investments (especially by Nokia), sister city relations, and Finnish good practices built into digital education in Hungary. We also continue our coverage from the previous issue, on ItalianHungarian ties highlighting gastronomy as the ‘Week of the Italian cuisine’ in Hungary took center stage. For ten years, Hungarians have been enjoying the benefits (like free travel) of membership to the Schengen zone of open internal borders. Our analyst looks at the pros and cons of this system over the past decade. This month, we have another international analysis, discussing Saudi Arabia’s role in the Middle East, while our business page is focuses on the Swiss Business Day held in Budapest this November. Our WittyLeaks column is authored by the Ambassador of Indonesia who relays how she sees life in Hungary and her love for the fried bread dough Lángos. The gastronomy page presents cabbage dishes and strange Christmas customs! Of course, you will find our program guides, wine offers and society picture compilations, as well. I wish you Happy Holidays from all of us here at Diplomacy&Trade.

Hungarians entered the Schengen zone of open page 17 internal borders ten years ago.

on the record

photos by SZILÁRD KOSZTICSÁK/MTI, NOÉMI BRUZÁK/MTI, SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, JÁNOS VAJDA/MTI

CHINA – CCEC 2017 SUMMIT IN BUDAPEST

The strengthening of the Chinese economy presents great opportunities for the countries of Central Europe. That is according to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaking after the economic and trade forum of China and sixteen Central and Eastern European countries He added that, in the new world order now taking shape, the role of Asia and China has increased significantly, and will continue to increase in the future. China has also become a determining factor in terms of finance and technology, he said, and Central Europe welcomes this development. He observed that there is enormous growth potential in the Central and Eastern European region. In order for it to be able to grow, the region also needs external technological and financial resources, but existing European resources are no longer sufficient on their own. On behalf of the countries of the region the Prime Minister welcomed the fact that, as part of this new world order, China wishes to be present in the growth and development of the region. As reported by the Xinhua news agency, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the key to the fast development of the 16+1 cooperation is to apply the principle of equality and consultation, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness, and innovation. The 16+1 cooperation is not a geopolitical tool, but an incubator for pragmatic trans-regional cooperation, Li said, adding that the cooperation is conducive to the balanced development of China-EU relations. He proposed initiatives to further promote cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). He called on the two sides to expand economic and trade scale, and boost trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. He encouraged the countries to speed up major projects on connectivity, promoting links through land, sea, air and the Internet. He suggested that the two sides probe into cooperation modes such as industrial parks in the areas of production capacity, energy, logistics and agriculture. He also called for strong financial support for the 16+1 cooperation and urged the countries to conduct more cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES PRAISED AT WSF IN JORDAN

This year’s World Science Forum (WSF), held in Jordan, in November, was the eighth time that the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) – in conjunction with seven international partners, including UNESCO – arranged this forum for scientists, academicians, science policy makers, politicians and businessmen. The Forum was also attended by Hungarian President János Áder (see picture). Following the event, MTA President László Lovász gave an assessment of w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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the event to the Academy’s website. He pointed out that this year’s Forum was by far the largest in the history of the conference. “The number of participants – almost 3,000 – was three times as many than we hosted in Budapest in 2015. We had approximately 900 guests two years ago. Clearly, this has a political message: this fact is a recognition of the moderate political system in Jordan. It is worth noting that only about one-third of the participants came from the Arab world. Thus, this event was seen as an opportunity to get into the flow of the scientific world – not only for Arab countries, but for all developing countries.” The Hungarian Academy of Sciences (that initiated and held six WSFs) contributed to this success significantly and all of the speakers, at the Jordan Forum, expressed their distinguished gratitude to the organization. “I am thinking about the work of our organizers from early years, as we have been able to witness a steady growth in the number of participants from the beginning of the 21st century. At the same time, this year’s growth in numbers is unprecedented. We are very happy to see the success of this event. In addition, this is also a great challenge for the future, as the next World Science Forum in 2019 will be hosted by Budapest, again. There is no doubt now that we managed to launch a highly successful event in 2003,” the MTA President said.

UPCOMING NATIONAL DAYS December

January

February

CORPORATIONS ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF SUSTAINABILITY

As revealed in the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary’s (BCSDH) own, nonrepresentative survey, according to 81% of respondents, environmental responsibility is one of the most important and most practical areas in which the long-term sustainability of corporations can be demonstrated. The organization – with more than 70 corporate members who contribute 30% of Hungary’s GDP – was interested in how 110 companies that signed the ‘Recommendation for Business Leaders’ evaluate their progress in taking responsibility for environmental accomplishments, and the action they have taken towards protecting the climate. The survey revealed that while 2016 reflected an attitude of euphoria after the signing of the Paris Climate Accord – as indicated in the survey from that year – in 2017, especially after the USA pulled out, this optimistic picture became more nuanced. “It is already quite clear that this turnaround by one of the most powerful countries in the world cannot put a stop to climate-related cooperation. This fact is also proven by the stand taken by our parent organization, the WBCSD, which articulated its commitment to continuing its work, which we also support. High-level leaders of the largest American corporations have also reiterated their support for climaterelated action, giving hope that sustainability issues will remain on the top of their list of priorities regarding their operations and the members of the BCSDH support this,” stated Attila Chikán Junior, President of BCSDH about the relevant points of the survey.

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK LOAN FOR HUNGARY The European Investment Bank (EIB) is contributing EUR 200 million to the implementation of EU-funded economic development programs in Hungary, the Hungarian Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said after signing the agreement with EIB Vice President Vazil Hudak. A statement by the Ministry for National Economy says this agreement is related to the second tranche of an EU credit line of EUR 1.5 bn approved in 2015, which has been aimed at the

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re-financing of domestic fiscal resources used for EU-funded projects. Of the first tranche, EUR 500 million, an agreement was concluded two years ago. Hungary can use the credit line made available for the programming period 2014-2020 for the financing of its own funds required for four operational programs: the Economic Development and Innovation Program, the Competitive Hungary Program, the Regional and Settlement Development Program and the Human Resources Development Program, the Minister noted. Mihály Varga stressed that the EIB found the progress made in the implementation of these programs satisfactory, they were content with the utilization of funds, and thus they agreed to provide the loan of EUR 200 million for the realization of the objectives set earlier. These funds, in harmony with EU program guidelines, are designed to contribute to the capacity expansion of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, job creation, the development of industrial parks, brownfield industrial projects as well as efforts aiming to make Hungary even more attractive as a tourism destination. The deal helps Hungary implement more economic stimulus measures and settlement development projects, and it assists the transition to an economy of low carbon emission. The credit line is also designed to help support disadvantaged jobseekers.

WINE TREASURY PROGRAM

The National Wine Treasury Program has been launched in Hungary with the help of funds – close to HUF 1.5 billion (EUR 4.8 mn) – allocated by the government, to start a unique preservation process in the history of Hungarian viticulture. The Hungarian Minister for Agriculture, Sándor Fazekas pointed out that it is since 1860 that an old, museum-like wine cellar in Tolcsva has been collecting aszú and other wine specialties of the Tokaj Wine Region. Over time, about 390,000 bottles have been collected. He added that the government now provides nearly HUF one and a half billion for the examination and management by experts of this unique wine treasure, as well as for the improvement of the storage conditions and the preparations for the possibility of presenting it to the public. Eliza Kiss, ministerial commissioner in charge of wine sector tasks at the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasized during the presentation of the program that this step was taken in the 24th hour, the cellar is in a very poor condition, so the reconstruction of the cellar has become inevitable. She pointed out that in parallel, special tasks related to the conservation of the wine collection must begin, such as the inventory and the sensory and analytical examination of the wine stock,. The Ministry is trying to successfully implement the program together with the National Wine Experts Committee and local wine experts, winemakers, the National Food Chain Security Office's Wine and Alcohol Beverage Directorate and the Department of Oenology at Szent István University. The ministerial commissioner added that the program will last until the end of December 2019. Meanwhile, they are preparing further steps, such as how to utilize the wine treasury for tourism purposes, she said.

company briefs the previous decade (e.g. Csepel Works), huge knowledge and tradition were lost in the tool industry both in Hungary and in Europe. In recent years, companies suitable for manufacturing small and medium-sized tools have emerged, but the large tool manufacturing capacity continues to be very low throughout the region, despite the huge demand. With Spinto's new plant, which is the first of its kind, only the Hungarian tool manufacturing sector will be able to obtain complete tool orders. In a unique way, the Hungarian tool manufacturing sector covering the full spectrum represents a major competitive advantage for attracting companies planning to invest in the region, among others, automotive investors, to Hungary. The fleet of

Spinto Hungária Ltd. is constructing an automotive tool factory in Miskolc, NE Hungary. The EUR 19 million project, establishes a unit manufacturing large tools forwhich there is huge demand throughout the region. In a specific government decision, the Hungarian government provided a subsidy to the project of the fully Hungarian-owned company, which will create 140 new jobs. According to a report by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), after the regime change (1988-90), with the disintegration of the big factories of

GRAIN PROCESSING PLANT AS A GREENFIELD PROJECT

NEW CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD CENTER IN BUDAPEST The international real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield has chosen Budapest as the venue for its new Portfolio Services Center (PSC) department. The new investment, partially funded by the Hungarian government, is expected to create 250 new jobs with high added value within the service sector that require a high level of training. Head of Global Occupier Services (GOS) Strategic Consulting Division, Tamás Polster told reporters that Cushman & Wakefield has invested HUF billions in Hungary since 1991, with which hundreds of thousands of square meters of office space, production hall and shopping center have been constructed. Cushman & Wakefield, which was founded a hundred years ago and is one of the world’s largest business property consulting companies, realized USD 6 billion in turnover in 2016 and has 300 offices in 70 countries employing some 42,000 people, the Minister told reporters. According to the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, the investment is another opportunity for young people with competitive knowledge to remain in Hungary, and to convince Hungarians working abroad to return home. Tamás Polster stressed that traditionally, in Central and Eastern Europe, the company is primarily involved in investor advisory and mediation, but that 50% of its revenues are now derived from lease agreements, and Budapest will now be the European center of this most dynamically expandable sector of business. From here, the company’s employees will advise foreign clients on where to invest, where to establish R&D centers and new factories; these transactions will be performed in Budapest and this is where the agreements and properties will be managed. 82 new staff members, 75% of whom are Hungarian, have been hired so far, for work in Europe, Asia and Africa. He added that the company expects a major increase in business property leasing in Europe, and has concluded several important contracts in recent months.

As a result of the largest food industry project in Hungary recently, the grain processing plant of KALL Ingredients has been completed in Tiszapüspöki near the town of Szolnok in eastern Hungary. With this greenfield project of EUR 145 million, the company will create jobs for about 500 people, and the plant will process more than 500,000 tons of maize per year, without producing any waste. This production capacity will be one of the largest in Europe. The inaugural ceremony of the new plant was attended by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Minister of National Economy Mihály Varga and Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas. Hungarian agriculture produces more than seven million tons of maize a year, but only a bit more than a half of this amount is processed; around 3 million tons are exported. The long-time goal of the Hungarian economy is to increase the amount of domestic use and processing of domestic agricultural products. KALL Ingredients is 100% Hungarian-owned, and the

plant will process GMO-free maize purchased from Hungarian producers, so it will provide stable, longterm demand for maize. In addition to isosugar, the company's product portfolio will range from the highest quality alcohol to starch, starch derivatives and edible oil raw material. In addition, it will also offer a wide range of products from feed ingredients produced for the livestock sector and pharmaceutical industry. More than 70% of the produced products will be exported; with this, the project will contribute to a significant increase in Hungarian food exports. The new plant has been constructed with the best available technology and will obtain heat energy from biomass. Competitiveness is ensured by the workforce and a waste-free, state-ofthe-art technology. For the plant, the goal is to produce Hungarian products even in 50 years from Hungarian raw materials and with Hungarian workers. The project was realized with the help of Hungarian suppliers, creating about 500 jobs directly, and more than 750 new positions indirectly.

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machinery and technology procured under the project will equip the plant with Industry 4.0 technologies. Spinto will employ highly qualified engineers for the operation of these advanced machines that are rare in this region, so that the next generation of specialists may become familiar with the trade of large tool making by joining the secondary and higher dualeducation system in the future. The HIPA report says there are an increasing number of domestic companies implementing important regional investments. Following German and US companies, Hungarian investors ranked third in the number of projects implemented in 2016, and with further increase, they reached second position in the first half of 2017.

LOGISTICS CENTER TO BE BUILT FOR AN AMERICAN COMPANY The Infogroup Real Estate Development Group is building a EUR 11.5 million logistics center in the Tiszaújváros Industrial Park in northeastern Hungary. The almost 17,000-sqm facility will be rented by the US-owned manufacturer of electronic products, Jabil Circuit Hungary. The United States based Jabil Inc., one of world's leading manufacturing services companies, has a presence in 28 countries worldwide and employs a total of 180,000 staff at 100 manufacturing facilities. The Hungarian subsidiary began operations in Tiszaújváros in 2000 and is the parent company's largest manufacturing facility in Europe and its third largest worldwide. Jabil Circuit Hungary Ltd. is one of the leading players in the economy of the North Hungary region, with net annual revenues of HUF 285 billion, of which 90% are derived from exports. The company is one of the county's largest employers, with almost 3,500 staff working at the 54,000-sqm factory. The enterprise's portfolio is continually being expanded in the automotive, telecommunications, computing and storage, medical electronics and industrial electronics sectors. This development will significantly increase Jabil's warehouse capacity, enabling the company to expand its business offering and network of service partners, and reach new potential customers. With its new logistics facility, the subsidiary aims to serve as a distribution center alongside to its electronics manufacturing activities. At the ceremony of laying the foundation stone, the Minister of National Economy Mihály Varga said that the start of this project is yet another sign of the long-term commitment of large enterprises to Hungary. Cooperation concerning suppliers, partnerships aiming to develop vocational education and companies’ future plans all reflect growing trust, the Minister added, commenting on the latest business confidence report by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. According to the report, more than two-thirds of some one hundred companies surveyed said that their current business situation was good, the best result since 2005.

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photos by ZSOLT SZIGETVÁRY/MTI, BALÁZS MOHAI/MTI, MINISTRY FOR NATIONAL ECONOMY

SPINTO TO BUILD TOOL FACTORY IN MISKOLC

company briefs DUNA ELEKTRONIKA KICKS OFF THE EXPANSION OF ITS OPERATIONS IN KECSKEMÉT Nearly seven years ago, Duna Elektronika Kft. placed an emphasis on the growing Kecskemét region as the newly opened Mercedes plant guaranteed business development and the need for IT support operations. This year, Duna will derive over 20% of its services revenue from the Kecskemét area mainly in support of automotive industry clients. “Time to expand” says Tibor Kiss, sales director of Duna Elektronika. The company has promoted Zsanette Héderné Kukta from Senior Service Delivery Manager to Regional Business Development Manager. With over six years of experience with Duna, Ms. Kukta understands how to match Duna’s capabilities with customer requirements and has a proven record of accomplishment of ensuring performance excellence. To launch this expansion, Duna held a seminar, at the Four Points by Sheraton conference center, to inform clients of the issues surrounding the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will be implemented under EU law in May 2018. “I believe that education is a great value added service that Duna provides its customers,” says Ms. Kukta who was previously an educator.

photos by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, 123RF.COM, CSABA KRIZSÁN/MTI, ZOLTÁN BALOGH/MTI

UPC HUNGARY DIGITAL SALES BOOSTED Telecommunications service provider UPC Hungary saw its sales of digital services boosted in the third quarter of 2017, the company has reported. During this period, UPC Hungary surpassed the 2 million subscriptions milestone and delivered an impressive revenue growth of 10.2%. The company says ‘Happy Home’, the newly enhanced value proposition, combined with the new brand campaign and continued investments to further expand the fiber-rich network, delivered more value to customers and boosted UPC’s sales of digital services in the third quarter of 2017. Key moments in the third quarter of 2017 included the launch of the new Happy Home customer value proposition and rebranding campaign, driving 10.2 % revenue growth year-on-year; and reaching the 2 million RGUs (Revenue Generating Units) milestone with another 6,100 customers added, closing Q3 with a total of 842,000 residential and business customers. Compared to the prior year, high-speed Internet services were up by 39,900 to reach a total of 655,000 subscribers, while analogue and digital TV services increased by 17,100, reaching in total 677,700 subscribers. Total mobile subscriptions reached 81,400 at the end of September. All in all, UPC services are now available to more than 1,764,400 households in Hungary. UPC’s superfast WiFi device, Connect Box has become an integral part of UPC’s customer value proposition with 120 Mbps provided to all new customers as an entry level download speed. The CEO of UPC Hungary and UPC Romania, Robert Redeleanu has pointed out “with the launch of new Happy Home customer value proposition and new brand and visual identity, in Q3, we delivered more value to our customers as we made the best connected entertainment available to them anytime and anywhere. Driven by the continued investments in the further expansion of our fiber-rich network, our dynamic performance was on track as we marked 10.2% revenue growth and reached the milestone of 2 million subscriptions.”

EDELMANN DEVELOPMENT IN ZALAEGERSZEG

NEW PETFOOD PRODUCTION HALL Nestlé Hungary Ltd. has expanded its production facility in Bük, W Hungary, with an investment cost of HUF 20 billion (appr. EUR 65 million). In the past seven years, Nestlé has invested EUR 140 million in total in developments in Bük. As a result, the local plant of Nestlé Purina has become one of the biggest pet food factories in Europe and the company now has 900 employees. More than 90% of the factory’s output is exported. The latest, 5,000-square-meter manufacturing hall was inaugurated by Minister for National Economy Varga Mihály. With the completion of the largest project in the history of Nestlé Hungária Ltd. to date, the most significant Swiss investor further strengthens its position in Hungary. Under this project, two new filling and packaging lines were installed in the new 5,000-square meter manufacturing hall. Using unique technology unparalleled worldwide, the new, fully automated plant unit processes high quality domestic agricultural raw materials, and is capable of producing more than 1 million product items per day. Thus, pet food loaded on more than 50 heavy goods vehicles can be dispatched from the plant to 42 countries in the world every day. More than 90 per cent of its output is made for foreign markets; the company has been exporting pet food worth more than HUF 380 billion from Bük since 2006. Over the past 10 years, the Nestlé Group has purchased more than 900,000 tons of cereals from Hungarian farmers. As a result, 60 per cent of the agricultural raw materials used in production in Bük come from domestic sources. Due to the three regional manufacturing centers of Nestlé Hungária Kft. in Hungary, it exports 15 times as much the value as it imports. Nestlé is the largest Swiss employer in Hungary: a total of 2,400 employees work at its Budapest headquarters as well as its Bük, Diósgyőr and Szerencs plants. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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Edelmann Hungary Packaging Co. Ltd. is upgrading its fleet of machines with a significant project in Zalaegerszeg, SW Hungary. With the over EUR 10 million project, the German company can not only increase its capacity, but can also supply higher quality and added-value products to its partners. The project is expected to bring 100 new jobs to the Southwestern Hungary region, where economic development is in focus. The German Edelmann Group, which manufactures primarily paper packaging materials, acquired the Zala Printing House at the end of 2010. Subsequently, a new manufacturing hall building was constructed with storage rooms and offices under a greenfield project, thus, the disadvantages resulting from the previous unfavorable geographical location were eliminated. According to a report by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency HIPA, both the opportunities provided by the new manufacturing hall and the continuously increasing volume of orders made his expansion necessary. With the new machines, higher added-value products can be manufactured, which may open new market segments and favor the increase of export sales. With the new printing process that can be implemented with the production equipment, manufacturing costs and also the total time of the manufacturing process can be reduced. The project is aimed at developing an innovative printing technology, which exceeds market demand and is, at the same time, cost efficient for supplying a wide range of partners requiring high quality, folded carton packaging materials. Edelmann's project further strengthens the position of Zalaegerszeg and the Southern Transdanubia region. The automotive test track constructed in the county town of Zala County, which will be suitable for testing both conventional and autonomous vehicles, is expected to attract the establishment of other high-added value R&D capacities, in connection with not only the automotive industry, but also 5G network developments required for self-driving. During the few months that have elapsed since the start of the construction work on the track, several dozen companies have indicated their interest in using the test road and establishing capacities in the vicinity.

diplomacy

PUNCHING IN ITS WEIGHT Saudi Arabia was always a sort of power broker during the Cold War years – behind the scenes. It quietly – and sometimes more openly – assisted the U.S. efforts to keep the Soviets out of the Arab region as much as possible the Soviet Union, which was sometimes dubbed as ’Saudi Arabia with nuclear power’ because of its one-dimensional economy. Saudi Arabia, as the largest oil-producing country in the world, was able to provide strategic assistance to Washington primarily by influencing the world market price of crude oil either directly or indirectly through OPEC. Overall, however, Saudi Arabia has been and is among the most important allies (besides Israel and Turkey) of the U.S. in the region, and one of the pillars of stability in the greater Middle East. Power relations in the region started to change in the 1980s. With the creation of a theocracy in Iran, a new and, from Saudi Arabia’s point of view, a hostile power appeared in the Middle East. Tehran has made substantial efforts to throw around its weight militarily, politically, and religiously. Its military buildup, especially its thinly disguised efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, threatened to upset the military balance. Saudi Arabia, and a number of other Sunni Arab states (initially the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC]) have responded with massive arms purchases – Riyadh itself has tripled purchases in the past five years. As for the political dimension, Iran has been trying to lure the countries of the so-called Fertile Crescent (Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria) into its orbit – not without success. And, of course, there is the religious dimension. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and is supposed to be the leader of the Muslim world. It is the keeper and protector of the two holiest places of Islam in Mecca and Medina. However, Sunni Islam is being challenged by Shia Islam and Tehran has been busy exporting the latter since 1979. As the political and religious fault lines overlap, it is sometimes difficult to know which one is the dominant factor in the regional rivalry between the group of countries closer to Saudi Arabia and those closer to Iran. Nevertheless, some analysts warn that the wider Sunni-Shia religious conflict may be more dangerous to the stability in the Middle East as the states’ borders have become more porous and religious affiliation seems to be one of the decisive supranational factors shaping the future of the region. This possibility is all the more plausible

as the influence of the Western powers, especially that of the U.S., which tended to tone down religious tensions, has been fading, partly due to the Obama administration’s opting for offshore balancing instead

of putting ’boots’ on the ground. As for the Trump administration, it is its unpredictability that contributes to the volatility of the situation in the region. Saudi Arabia seems to be willing to step into part of the vacuum left behind D E C E M B E R

by outside powers in recent years. It took military actions against militant Shia groups (the Houthis) at the request of the elected government in Yemen, and initiated – along with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait 2 0 1 7

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and Bahrain – a boycott against the predominantly Sunni Qatar because – the Saudis say – Qatar failed to fulfil its promise to stop financing terrorism. At the end of November, the participants in the international meeting on Yemen affirmed their support for the right of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to defend its security and stability because of the threats posed by the Houthis in Yemen to the security of the Kingdom and neighboring countries. Saudi Arabia’s recent moves regarding Lebanon are geared to prevent a potential takeover of the Hezbollah, another proxy of Iran’s. Also, this November, the Arab League accused Iran of destabilizing the region and condemned Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, one of the major, if not the major puzzle in the greater Middle East is the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. The nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA]) is likely to delay only the ’break-out time’ (i.e., Iran’s capability to build a nuclear weapon), therefore, Saudi Arabia is reportedly making emergency preparations for eventually acquiring nuclear capability too – allegedly with the assistance of the Pakistanis. All of these movements suggest not only that Saudi Arabia wishes to balance Iran in the region and become the leader of the anti-Iranian, anti-Shia Sunni Arab camp, but it is also trying to push back Iran’s influence in the region – with mixed results, so far. At the same time, Riyadh has realized that an economy based almost exclusively on oil revenues stands on shaky grounds, more so, as oil prices have been relatively low recently and are not likely to rise dramatically, while the oil reserves of the country are said to be dropping, although, it is still the largest producer in the world. Its ’Vision 2030’ envisions a high-tech country, leading in defense technology. In general, the emerging generation of younger leaders, foremost among them Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud (the leader in Time magazine’s ‘Person of The Year’ poll as we go to press), seems to be determined to modernize their country, to establish a stronger domestic base for a more ambitious plan: to change the geopolitical and geo-economic structures in the Middle East. The history of the region can successfully compete for the most eventful and changeable one in the world; its future is likely to live up to that reputation for better or worse.

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photos by COURTESY OF THE EMBASSY OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA/MIKHAIL METZEL, SAUDI TOURISM MULTIMEDIA LIBRARY, HENNINGLARSEN.COM

SAUDI ARABIA IN MIDDLE EASTERN POWER GAMES

gift corner www.dunaelektronika.com

Dell XPS 15 Over 8 million reasons to love this powerful 15-inch laptop

SIMON SKOTTOWE BESPOKE TAILORS 1054 Budapest, Zoltán u. 10. +36 70 531-3980

www.simonskottowe.com

London Style Comes to Budapest

Stunning viewing experience. The XPS 15 uses the latest in display technology, with an available IGZO2 panel in stunning UltraSharp™ 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160). It boasts more than 8 million pixels, which is four times more than a Full HD display and seven times more than an HD display. Those pixels deliver exceptionally clear and bright viewing and sharper detail for movies, creation and content consumption, as well as sharp web text. See more content on your screen – more Excel rows, browsing multiple web pages side by side, copying between folders, or even running multiple apps side by side – for increased productivity. The XPS 15 was thoughtfully designed with premium, authentic materials. The sleek overall design is a result of its performance-driven construction. Machined aluminum provides strength and durability. The top cover is precision cut from a single block of aluminum. The carbon fiber composite base helps drive its lightness. It is strong like aluminum, and thin, but feels cooler to the touch. Dell has made it easier for IT departments to choose laptops that offer the security and services they value in a sleek form factor that executives and employees on the go now demand. Optional enterprise-friendly features include Trusted Platform Module for BitLocker Data Encryption, ProSupport™ and Configuration Services such as static imaging and asset tagging.

Since 2001 Simon Skottowe Bespoke Tailors has been a haven for all style conscious gentlemen in the heart of central Pest. Unique in Hungary, as the only menswear producer and retailer owned and managed by a London trained tailor, Simon Skottowe Ltd. combines fine bespoke pieces with its private label shirts and an eclectic mix of some of the finest menswear brands from all around the world. Luxurious cashmere from Begg and Co., cosy knitwear from Italy’s Gran Sasso, ties and pocket squares from Drake’s of London, leather accessories from Tuscany’s Il Bussetto, glorious printed scarf’s from Milan’s Petronius 1926, Hamerli gloves from Pécs, the list goes on. Enjoy the distinctly British vibe and the obsessive attention to details of a true perfectionist.

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Meet the t-Series Designer Gourmet Tea by Dilmah Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando had a unique vision. He wanted to offer consumers the finest tea on Earth with ethics and integrity. That pledge is fulfilled in our commitment to garden fresh, unblended tea of the finest quality. Our Founder’s intention to make his tea ethical, is honored in the work of his MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation. In making our business a matter of human service, we extend the natural goodness in every cup of Dilmah by the positive humanitarian and environmental impact Dilmah has on communities and ecosystems. A tea for every occasion. Dilmah t-Series presents a collection of teas that celebrates the individuality and taste of tea from estates around the world known for their excellence. Teas that are so different – there’s a tea for every mood. Browse through the world’s most eclectic and esoteric collection of teas.

FREYWILLE Budapest, VI. Andrássy út 43. +36 1 413 0174 Liszt Ferenc Airport – SkyCourt +36 1 296 5422

www.freywille.com

Poésie d’amour Scale Alphonse Mucha, who has been the source of inspiration for some very successful FREYWILLE designs, is known as one of the most important artists of the era of French Art Nouveau. His creative work pays homage to womanhood which he underlines by using soft, delicate and feminine colors, which resemble a spring like princess, soft nuances that fuse gently with the skin and – in addition – remind us of beautiful gemstone colors. Poésie d’amour shines in soft rose colors like rose quartz, amethyst and ivory. To present those delicate colors in the best possible way FREYWILLE is very proud to introduce a world novelty: for the first time in the history of the company a mounting was created in rose color and the overall appearance is pure harmony!

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REPRESENTING THE RELATIVES BY SÁNDOR LACZKÓ

Ambassador Tuomi-Nikula arrived in Hungary almost two years ago. In the previous five years, he was his country’s ambassador in Italy. As to his objectives as the new Finnish ambassador here, he says he put a strong emphasis on economic and cultural ties. Regarding culture, “the special relations between Finland and Hungary are based on the proximity of language roots. The two peoples traditionally see each other as relatives. It is something very important for me. Even before I came here, I heard stories about people questioning the Finno-Ugrian origins of the Hungarian people and therefore, their kinship with the Finns. This supposition is quite shocking as the relationship between the Finnish and Hungarian languages is a scientific fact for everyone who knows a little about languages. Claiming anything different falls into the category of political comment. It has been one of my missions to emphasize and

highlight the traditional, old Finnish-Hungarian relationship, which has been so important for both countries and both peoples in the past two hundred years or so, not only in terms of culture and cultural exchange but it has also had a very big impact on economic, political and social life.”

Sentiments attract capital As an example, the Ambassador mentions that after the change of the political system in Hungary in 1988-90, Finland became one of the biggest investors in this country, which continued for many years. There were years when Nokia and Elcoteq were the biggest exporters from Hungary. “I talked to the owner of Elcoteq, Antti Piippo and he said that he chose Hungary as the venue of investment because of this special relationship, although, the business environment in other countries of the region was basically the same. He stressed that ‘somehow, it is so easy to get along with Hungarians’. This decision alone brought investments worth EUR billions to Hungary and it was based purely on a deep, warm

sentiment among Finns towards Hungarians. And there are many examples like that: over 60% of Finnish investments to East Central Europe came to Hungary.” When it comes to politics, the Ambassador recalls

a moment of history that illustrates the special relationship in a very clear way. “It was in 1939 when Hungary was the only country in this part of Europe that was willing and actually able to send troops to help Finland in the Winter War against

FACTS COMPARED 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

FINLAND

93,028 sq km 110 9,874,784 (July 2016 est.) 91 -0.24% (2016 est.) 216 9.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) 207 75.9 years 92 1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) 57 USD 26,200 (2015 est.) 70 6.8% (2015 est.) 79 11.786 million 76 41 (2013) 104

338,145 sq km 66 5,518,371 (July 2017 est.) 117 0.36% (2017 est.) 162 10.7 births/1,000 population 185 81 years 31 2.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population 36 USD 42,300 (2016 est.) 41 8.8% (2016 est.) 114 7,366,100 99 148 (2013) 39

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photo by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

INTERVIEW WITH PETRI TUOMI-NIKULA, FINNISH AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY

finnish focus Political ties As for Finnish-Hungarian political relations, “our common ground, common framework, the place where we are working together is, of course, the European Union. Our ministers meet every month in different kinds of council meetings in Brussels or elsewhere. This is the place where Finland and Hungary are very often allies in several issues. There are also issues where we don’t have the same or even similar view but this is normal as all countries seek ways to best enforce their interests. There are regular visits between the parliaments of the two countries – this exchange is very lively. On ministerial level, the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade was in Finland this February while the Finnish Foreign Trade Minister was just here in Budapest in November,” the Ambassador explains.

Economic relations

the Soviet Union. Why? Again, the answer lies in this special relationship.” On the social side, he mentions that “it is unbelievable how many Finnish-Hungarian marriages there are, how many Hungarians are living in Finland. Interestingly enough, Hungarians in Finland have a real impact on the classical music life in the country. One fine example is the Bogányi family. Our December 3 anniversary concert at the Music Academy features as the maestro Tibor Bogányi who spent his childhood and youth in Finland.”

photos by PIXABAY.COM, MUNICIPALITY OF GERESDLAK

Anniversary celebrations

The centennial concert is just one of the many events that will be held in Hungary to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Finland’s independence. “Altogether, there are and will be around 200 events (mainly concerts and exhibitions) throughout Hungary. We are happy to see Hungarian cities and towns as part of the celebrations as choirs, orchestras and publishing houses include something Finnish in their programs. For instance, the Hungarian Radio choir had a wonderful concert dedicated to Finland. This November, the MÁV orchestra and the Pannónia orchestra also had concerts dedicated to my country. It is especially between December 3 and 6 that a lot of things are about Finland: the Elizabeth Bridge will be illuminated in the Finnish national colors of blue and white.” The program the Ambassador particularly enjoyed was the one where people were encouraged to run, bike and Nordic walk 100 kilometers for the 100-year-old Finland, organized by the Hungarian

Leisure Sport Association. “It was wonderful to see hundreds of Nordic walkers here in May – all in blue and white.”

Find your relative in Finland The first world congress of Finno-Ugrian peoples was held 25 years ago, on December 1, 1992. That reminds the Ambassador that “even when I was in Hungary before this current assignment of mine, I always had a very strong feeling of being treated better than other foreigners. When I asked Hungarians who visited Finland, they said exactly the same: Hungarians are treated better than other nationals in Finland. I think it is a very important heritage that we can pass on to our children.” He also mentions a special mobile phone application that is to foster friendship between the Finnish and Hungarian people. “We keep saying that Finns and Hungarians are relatives. We can prove it with the app ‘Find your relative in Finland’, developed by Nokia. The application will ask to take a photo of you, uploads it into a database and then looks for people with similar facial characteristics to find your ‘relative’, the one who looks the most like you, among people who use this app in the other country. Of course, the opportunity is there to establish contact with that person if you wish. We hope that technically-minded people, especially the younger generation, will download and use this application. The basic idea here is, of course, to underline, highlight – and reinforce the interest in – the proximity of languages and cultures between the two peoples.”

According to the latest figures of bilateral trade available (2016), Finnish imports from Hungary to Finland amounted to EUR 299.8 million while Finnish exports to Hungary were EUR 228.9 million. Where the Ambassador sees room for improvement in business relations is in the fields of green economy: energy and e-mobility. “Finnish companies have been able to come up with great solutions in district heating, for instance and some of these were presented at the Nordic Green Light Forum in Budapest this spring. Of course, Finnish companies are also interested in the opportunities offered by the construction of the planned nuclear blocks in Hungary, the Paks-II project: our firms can offer processes, services and technologies. A similar reactor is to be built by the Russians in Finland (at Pyhäjoki) Therefore, cooperation in third countries is also a possibility. In addition, more and more Finnish companies bring their research and development activities to Hungary. In fact, currently, the biggest R&D center in this country is run by Nokia Networks in Budapest with some 2,200 people working there. Another Finnish firm, Neste is about to start their R&D center here.” As the Ambassador puts it, “Nokia used to exploit Hungarian hands in its mobile phone factory and now it ‘exploits’ Hungarian minds, which carries a lot more added value.”

Business environment There are some 70 Finnish companies in Hungary with about 4,000 employees. The largest investor is Nokia. “Once Finnish companies establish themselves here, it takes certain time for them to get used to the conditions. What I hear is that by and large, they are happy with the business environment. Actually, it is very simple: if the business environment is not good, they leave the

country. Once Nokia and Elcoteq employed about 8,000 people each. However, money talks and the managers are responsible to their shareholders. We used to have many more Finnish companies but many have left for various reasons: sometimes it did not have to do anything with Hungary, while in other cases it did very much, indeed,” Ambassador Tuomi-Nikula points out. He forecasts that “one firm that will be big in Hungary is Fortum. This Finnish energy giant is getting at least 46% ownership in the German energy company Uniper from E.ON in an EUR 8 billion deal and through this, Fortum will appear in Hungary, too.” He also mentions Profile Vehicles, a company from eastern Finland building ambulance cars in Hungary, just east of Budapest.

Culture Every year, there are quite a number of Finnish books published in Hungarian. There is an extensive system to support the translation and publication of these books. “Even so, without the interest of readers in Hungary, the publishing houses would not take any of them. Another cultural aspect is music. Hungary has been extremely important for Finnish classical music for the past 35-40 years. In the 1980s, the Communist government allowed Hungarian musicians and music teachers to go to Finland and many Hungarians, like the Bogányi family, took the opportunity. Even the present Finnish Minister of Education thinks warmly of Hungarians as she had a Hungarian music teacher when she was a student.” The Finnish Embassy in Budapest supports technical education for girls in Hungary, applying some good practices they have back in Finland. “Finland is one of the leading countries in gender equality and it is a very important issue to us. We believe that investing in the skills of girls and young women benefits the entire society. Promoting the rights of women and girls has always been one of our key priorities in Finland and worldwide. This has also been emphasized during the Centennial celebration and we have endeavored to share some of our best practices. We have found a very good local partner to implement the program in Hungary: the Technology in Education Foundation whose flagship project ‘Skool’ provides free technology training for 8-18-year-old girls. This program will be continued after the Centennial year, as well since it has been a huge success. Not only is it beneficial for the participants but it is also a good way to make Finnish knowledge in computer sciences known,” Ambassador Tuomi-Nikula concludes.

VISITORS AND SETTLERS

There are several Hungarian-Finnish friendship associations throughout Hungary. “Again, these are the results of the special relations between the two peoples,” Ambassador Tuomi-Nikula stresses. He adds that “there must be about 40 cities or towns in Finland that have sister city relations with towns in Hungary – a huge number and there are more to come all the time. This is the part of civil society that we appreciate very much. It happens many times that members of a sister city delegation are also seeking business opportunities. In Hungary, there are vineyard owners from all over the world and among them Finns, as well. For instance, the gentleman who was responsible for building the first Elcoteq factory in Pécs, and was also the first CEO of the company, has two or three vineyards in Hungary and sells his produce in a wine shop in Budapest.” The village of Geresdlak, near Pécs, is a special chapter in Finnish-Hungarian relations. “It is a strange phenomenon that Finns got together and bought houses in the same Hungarian village. Actually, the mayor has been very clever in the way he is marketing it as a ‘Finnish village’. It has also been a place with a very strong German presence for the past two centuries. A young lady has recently made a social linguistic study about how the Finns, Germans and Hungarians live together in Geresdlak, influencing each other, their languages and their habits,” the Ambassador says, highlighting the phenomenon that Finnish families – as they would do in Finland – take a walk in the evening. As the researcher found Hungarians living in the village have now also taken up this habit… w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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finnish focus

RAISING THE FINNISH PRESENCE FINNAGORA PROMOTES FINLAND AND ITS CULTURE IN HUNGARY

In the course of 2017, FinnAgora, the Finnish Cultural Institute in Budapest, has organized more cultural and scientific events than ever before. Around Finnish Independence Day, December 6, FinnAgora shows Light Art at the Gellért Hill Waterfall. New Finnish Jazz will be presented in the Opus Jazz Club, and for the first time, smaller jazz concerts will be organized in private homes. The biggest projects during the year have been seminars and methodology related events concerning the famous Finnish educational system, introducing the best practices from Finland. The biggest event of this sort was the ‘Learning Reloaded – Practicing Digital Education’ conference organized in October 2017 in Budapest. “The interest has been huge and we are very happy to cooperate with Hungarian schools and teachers as there are good practices in both countries,” says FinnAgora’s Director Cita Högnabba-Lumikero. The year started with the Film festival ‘Finn Filmnapok’ and a successful contemporary photography exhibition in the Robert Capa Museum in Budapest, in cooperation with the Finnish Backlight Photo festival.

Promoting Finland FinnAgora's main mission is to represent and advocate Finland, its culture, its scientific achievements, as

well as the country's economic actors in Hungary and in the neighboring countries. The institution puts special emphasis on the current trends in arts and in science. It works as an independent organization in Hungary and maintains close cooperation with the Embassy. FinnAgora is one of the 17 cultural and scientific institutions of Finland. Founded in 2004, the main objective of the institution is to raise the presence of Finnish artists, scientists and as economic and social actors in Central Europe. FinnAgora is basically an intermediary organization that bases its activities on the excellent knowledge of the actors of Finnish culture, science and economy and on the tight cooperation with Hungarian and international organizations. There are several Finnish and Hungarian cultural, scientific, educational and economic institutions and numerous companies and NGOs among FinnAgora's collaborating partners. The institution is maintained by a foundation with a board of directors consisting of representatives from several cities, higher education institutions, ministries

as well as cultural, economic or civil organizations. FinnAgora is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland.

Aurora Borealis above Budapest The Suomi-Finland 100 festive events and ceremonies cumulate on December 6, the Finnish Day of Independence. To pay tribute to the centenary, an audiovisual installation ‘Aurora Borealis’ lights up the sky of Budapest from sunset till midnight between December 3 and 6. Produced by FinnAgora and situated in front of the Gellért Hill Waterfall, Aurora Borealis light statue brings a piece of Northern sky to the middle of wintery darkness. At the same time, the Embassy of Finland makes emblematic and beautiful Elizabeth Bridge shine in the blue and white colors of the Finnish flag. The Aurora Borealis light show is realized in the cooperation of Hungarian and Finnish artists, strengthening the legendary connection of the two nations, in a symbolic way. Media designers of the light statue are media artists András Nagy and László Zsolt Bordos. An accompanying sound atmosphere is created by Kasperi Laine, one of the most recognized Finnish sound designers.

FINNISH CENTENARY IN HUNGARY HUNGARIANS TAKING PART IN THE 100-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

100 kms challenge

Gastronomy

During the special year, even sport events organized were organized. At one of these, the ‘100 kms challenge’, where participants had to complete 100 kms (walking/biking/Nordic walking, etc.) in honor of the 100-years old Finland. The challenge – organized in conjunction with the Hungarian Leisure Sport Association – began with a Nordic walking event starting out from the courtyard of the Finnish Embassy. The aim of the challenge was to ‘gather’ 100 kilometers until the middle of October by walking, jogging, biking or Nordic walking. The other one was an unofficial outdoor floorball match between Hungary and Finland, played on Móricz Zsigmond square.

Finnish gastronomy was in the focus throughout the year as the Embassy of Finland in Budapest also marked the centenary with Finnish flavors. The Embassy released a popular video series starring its executive chef, Niko Tähti. In each part of the series, Niko has presented the way how to prepare a typical Finnish food and given the audience detailed recipes. Dishes are made by Niko Tähti, who is well-known despite his young age. As Ambassador Petri Tuomi-Nikula put it, “Niko´s goodies excite even the most hardened epicures. Welcome to the world of the pure, tasty Finnish food!”

Equality – a core value in Finland – was promoted by a coding seminar for Hungarian girls at the Finnish Embassy, in cooperation with the Skool program. The organizer of this program, the Foundation for Technological Education, which offers free technology education for young people, has launched cooperation with the Finnish Embassy and the FinnAgora institute to incorporate into its own educational and training programs for young people the good practices of Finland, which is a leader in digital education. As a supporter of the Skool program, the Finnish Embassy contributes to making as many young girls become the creator of the technology world as possible, while those who share their common interests find out about Finland and the Finnish education system, as well. D E C E M B E R

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photos by OLIVÉR SIN/1FOTO.HU, COURTESY OF THE EMBASSY OF FINLAND, STUDIO RUNYAI

Technical education

The main event for celebrating the 100th anniversary of the independence of Finland in Hungary is the concert on December 3 of Finnish and Hungarian pieces of music with conductor Tibor Bogányi and soloist Helena Juntunen at the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. However, the f irst 11 months of the year also featured several centenary events.

We create the technology to connect the world

finnish focus

A WELCOMING OFFICE NOKIA EARNS FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE AWARD IN HUNGARY

open to parents on maternity leave. The CEO of Nokia in Hungary, Béla Zagyva commented that “as a father of two, providing prospects and security for our employees with families is very close to my heart. We all know that returning to work is often a difficult task, which is why we would like to ease the challenges of this period. Our colleagues have had 215 new-borns in the past two years, and we would like to ensure those with small children that they are welcome back to the office any time.”

NOKIA IN HUNGARY

Nokia has been present in Hungary since 1997, and in the past two decades the company here has managed to achieve a prominent position in several areas, including research and development. For instance, the most widely used Hungarian product in the world, the Mobile Switching Server, which connects over 1.8 billion mobile device users in the world, is also developed here. Perhaps not many people know that Hungary plays an integral role in 5G research. Successful Hungarian experts are working on the development of the tools and the network necessary for 5G, to ensure that by 2020 we can all benefit from it. A statement by the company says that “Nokia Budapest has over 2,200 employees and is constantly growing. We have one of the largest ICT R&D centers in Hungary with over 1500 employees. Our newly built office building, Nokia Skypark is also home to the research activities of the Hungarian branch of the world-renowned Nokia Bell Labs. Furthermore, we also have large Finance, Procurement and HR operation centers and a Marketing & Corporate Affairs hub in Hungary, all high contributors to Nokia global success. We have an international team of 40 nationalities in Budapest. We are creating an inclusive working environment where everyone feels valued, motivated and inspired to reach their full potential. To support this aspiration in a formal way, we provide development and training opportunities, competitive reward packages, equal opportunities and flexible working. In daily work, we promote our company values which are: respect, achievement, renewal and challenge.”

According to statistics, the rate of women returning to work after maternity leave or the longer child care benefit period (GYES, GYED – up to 3 years) is still significantly low in Hungary. While baby-friendly workplaces and on-site kindergartens have become widespread in Western European countries, these practices are not yet common in Hungary. Budapest-based Nokia Solutions

and Networks (NSN) provides a positive example with its recently opened in-office kindergarten as well as its fully equipped baby-friendly office that meets all the needs of mothers and small children alike. The objective of the nurserykindergarten facility within the Nokia headquarters in the Corvin quarter of Budapest is to provide employees with the opportunity of having their children on site at a state-of-the-art

child care facility. The kindergarten, which has a maximum capacity of 60 children, places emphasis on foreign language training. Educators are supported by English-speaking assistants, while the children of international employees can join dedicated English-language groups. In addition, employees who prefer private kindergarten can cover close to 50% of the costs with their employee fringe benefits. D E C E M B E R

The baby-friendly office was primarily designed for employees who have returned to work after giving birth and whose home environments are not conducive to telecommuting or home office, or those who have to come into the office for appointments but wish to manage the care of their children themselves. The office, which is equipped with toys for children of all ages from new-born to primary school age children, is also 2 0 1 7

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This measure is not exceptional as family-friendly solutions are an integral part of Nokia’s corporate culture. The company also hosted an internal workshop for employees in October this year. The objective of the event – in addition to exchanging experiences – was to discuss how Nokia can become even more family-friendly in the future. Besides the kindergarten and the babyfriendly office, the company has already implemented many other solutions in order to ease the dayto-day challenges of employees with families. New mothers and fathers are entitled to a ‘birth support’ benefit and they are treated as integral parts of the company even while they are on leave: they continue to be included in company events such as Family Day and medical screening tests. They also receive regular newsletters specially designed for them with updates on the most important events from the company’s life. Atypical employment forms have been a part of corporate culture at Nokia for a long time: apart from flexitime and part time work, employees also have the opportunity to work from home once or twice a week. According to Linda László, head of HR at Nokia in Budapest, the company’s business philosophy is to develop technologies that enable people to have more time for themselves. “We employ the same philosophy for our internal company culture. We wish to provide our employees with the proper conditions so that they can feel comfortable in any situation. Our efforts are clearly welcome by our colleagues: we are proud to say that our employees have given us a collective 4.5 work-life balance rating out of 5 on the glassdoor.com website, which is a remarkable achievement, even on an international scale.” In fact, it is not only Nokia employees who consider the company’s baby-friendly solutions a best practice: Nokia has been named one of this year’s recipients of the Family-friendly Workplace Award granted by the Ministry of Human Resources.

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photos by TIBOR FÜLÖP

Family-friendly solutions

finnish focus

GASSING UP ENERGY

WÄRTSILÄ HUNGARY SERVES OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE REGION, AS WELL

Wärtsilä, a Finnish corporation that manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets, begins its 14th year in Hungary in January 2018. have two plants with Wärtsilä engines in Budapest, as well as one each in Győr, Tatabánya, Sopron, Szombathely, Kazincbarcika and Tiszaújváros. In Eger, we are maintaining a plant with Caterpillar engines. Also, we service engines at the power station for the Budapest district heating company and we are in discussion to extend our cooperation with the energy company E.ON, in Hungary. Nowadays, in Hungary, gas engine power plants are mostly linked to virtual power plants in the ancillary services. However, they are producing heat, as well,” he adds.

we still have maintenance agreements running from that time. This makes me remain optimistic that our business is going to grow in the future, especially now that we have been able to carry out services of power plants with other engine brands than Wärtsilä having workshop capacities in Budaörs (Hungary), and also in Constanta (Romania), being able to deliver also bigger service projects as Marine and Energy Solutions.“

Installation and maintenance Wärtsilä has delivered and installed gas engines for energy and district heating companies in various cities and towns in Hungary and also at the strategically important gas storage in Algyő, in the southeast of the country. The newest commissioned plant of 10 MW this autumn is also in Algyő serving the oil and gas company MOL. As for the scope of this market in the country, the General Manager for Sales says the capacity of gas engine powered plants here is roughly 400 MW and more than one third of this are Wärtsilä engines. “We

photos by WÄRTSILÄ, MARIO BERE/MARIOBERE.COM

As the General Manager for Sales of Wärtsilä Hungary Ltd., Csaba-Paul Slavic recalls for Diplomacy&Trade, “we started as a branch of Wärtsilä Finland in this country in January 2004. Actually, at first, I was in the company alone and then, step by the step came the new guys. Today, Wärtsilä Hungary Ltd. employs 70 people (about 50 of them Hungarians), including staff in Romania and Bulgaria. In 2007, we became a Hungarian limited company: Wärtsilä Hungary Ltd. (WHU) owned 100% by Wärtsilä Corporation. The period between 2003 and 2006 was exciting because there was a boom of gas engine power plants in Hungary, so, we were quite busy with new contracts, delivering, installing and commissioning new Wärtsilä equipment. Then, this kind of business slowed down but, in parallel, we increased our service business. In fact,

Regional role In regards the expansion of business for Wärtsilä Hungary Ltd., Csaba-Paul Slavic points out that “from 2007, we moved to the neighboring countries with our services. So, from the office here in Hungary, we are taking care not just of customers in this country but also in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldavia and Ukraine. Perhaps with the exception of Bulgaria and Romania, gas power plants do not constitute a big business in these countries, yet, but that is likely to change in the near future. However, in

WÄRTSILÄ AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Wärtsilä as a company has long been involved in environmental issues. As one of the marine industry’s leading equipment suppliers, the company has a responsibility to supply efficient products that can benefit both the customer and the environment. Accordingly, Wärtsilä has developed a broad range of specialized and proven environmental products, including systems for ballast water, wastewater treatment and exhaust gas cleaning. In so doing, the company provides its customers with the tools for enabling compliance with both current and future environmental legislation, helping them towards a clean conscience and a clean environment. GAS AS A FUEL One primary method of reducing emissions from a marine engine is to run on cleaner fuel. Operating with liquid natural gas (LNG) fuel is an effective means of complying with current exhaust emissions legislation, since LNG is one of the few fuels pure enough to meet even the strictest regulations. In addition to enabling compliance with nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) abatement legislation, the emissions of particulate matter (PM) are minimized. Many feel that this will prove to be the solution for future marine operations. Wärtsilä has led the way in developing technologies that make running on gas more available than ever, providing a range of solutions, thus making natural gas increasingly viable as a propulsion fuel in marine applications. The company offers the LNG fuel system on its own, as well as part of a complete propulsion system. POLLUTION AT SEA According to Wärtsilä’s environmental brochure, “we are slowly but surely destroying our seas, with wastewater from ships and land installations causing eutrophication, leaving the bottom of the sea lifeless. Oil leaks and solid waste destroy entire ecosystems. Species are being wiped out by unfamiliar predators that have been introduced to local ecosystems by humans. Sea creatures die from having eaten discarded plastic items that become lodged in their digestion systems. Fortunately, many of these problems can be avoided thanks to the introduction of clean technology, safety measures, and a measure of common sense. Here again, legislation plays a major role when it comes to ensuring a safe and sound environment for both humans and nature alike.” For a solution closer to Hungary, Csaba-Paul Slavic mentions that “this summer, we sold the first oily water separator for a business on inland waterways on the Danube. It will be installed by a company in Linz, Austria and it will collect oil from all the vessels on the Danube. This is Wärtsilä’s contribution to clean our Danube – or at least keeping it cleaner.”

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Bulgaria, for instance, we already have three gas engine power plants with a total capacity of 27 MW and in the Czech Republic two power plants totaling 18 MW. Since Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine have the seashore of the Black Sea, servicing marine related equipment is also of high importance there.”

Digitalization According to the General Manager for Sales, one of the directions of Wärtsilä is digitalization. “It is coming on strongly. Wärtsilä has acquired companies with such profile in Finland. Also through acquisition, today, Wärtsilä is able to deliver hybrid power plants with gas engines and accumulators. The future is touching Wärtsilä but the company is always a step ahead.” Remote operations and online services are adapted in more and more industries and – as Csaba-Paul Slavic highlights – “controlling the engines’ operation remotely is already on our agenda along with online services, in marine applications and in the power plant business, as well. The vision is that through the digitalization of services, operators will not only follow and react to the equipment needs but also prevent any possible errors or faults, for maximizing availability of our products. This and cyber security are important elements of the digitalization process.” To the question of how satisfied the clients are with the expertise of Hungarian engineers and other experts of Wärtsilä, Csaba-Paul Slavic says “I can answer you with a simple fact: the availability of all engines, plants serviced by us is higher than 96%, all the engines are running in excellent condition, our service team is always caring for them with a dedicated interest and high qualification.”

SISU, THE FINNISH SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE AND DETERMINATION HAS BEEN A DRIVING FORCE TO BUILD AND DEVELOP THE COUNTRY THROUGHOUT ITS 100 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE.

finnish focus

THE FINNISH SOLUTION HUNGARY IS A FAST CHANGING FITNESS AND WELLNESS MARKET The Finnish owner of the Budapest-based fitness and wellness company Finn Wellness Ltd., Risto Junttila, got into this business almost by accident. “It was back in 1993 that I needed a sauna for myself here in Budapest, I checked the market and I decided to start a business myself. As beforehand, I was working in the Office of Operations for the United Nations on the Golan Heights where Finns had saunas built for them, I had the contacts in Finland for the building and maintenance of saunas,” he recalls for Diplomacy&Trade. For a couple of years, building saunas for clients was the main profile of his company “but then, people started demanding other things like infra cabins, steam cabins, etc. and ever since, the market has always demanded something new. Actually, Finn Wellness is an umbrella under which we have different high quality brands, for example,

Finnrelax for saunas, infras and steam cabins and Technogym for fitness equipment and solutions” he adds. “My business mentality comes from Finland and that includes taking care of the employees. As a result, I have several people working for me for more than two decades already. I know that one of the biggest problems in this country is fluctuation of the workforce. One needs to understand that workforce is important capital for a company,” Risto Junttila points out.

Finn Wellness serves individual and corporate customers, including hotels, fitness clubs and different wellness solutions for public areas. “We can offer the most comprehensive solutions in Hungary as we are the most equipped for this, for instance, we provide all the conceptual and production plans for the projects by ourselves. Although, the Hungarian market is quite pricesensitive, we are targeting the client segment that can understand that quality materials and quality parts have their

price and using them makes the whole project more reliable, makes it last longer and will require less maintenance over the years,” the owner says. He believes providing solutions is of the importance. “In the past, we have built close to 8,000 saunas and most of them in private houses. Say, if a client wants a sauna in the basement but there is no shower there, I may not do it, at all, because it will simply not provide the experience the client has in mind and I might be blamed for that eventually.” According to Risto Junttila the demand by our customers is changing very fast. “We are living longer and the quality of life is in the back of our minds. It occurs to many people that ‘yeah, let’s buy a sauna’ but they don’t think the thing through and after a while, they quit. This is something that I would like to see change. The fitness industry in Hungary is serving 5% of the people. Unlike Western Europe, Hungary is still a very open market in the sense that you have to find this 95% of the people who are not familiar with fitness, wellness, etc. It has to be done in a tailor-made way. It is planning, planning, planning.”

COMPLETE WELLNESS SOLUTIONS

Get in touch and we send you our new online catalogue: info@finnwellness.hu

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FOR YOUR HOME AND BUSINESS

analysis

SCHENGEN: A PERFECT IDEA IN PRINCIPLE…

…TESTED BY REALITY

photo by DREAMSTIME.COM

BY TAMÁS MAGYARICS

December 2017 is the 10th anniversary of Hungary, in the company of a number of other states, joining the Schengen regime, which was originally made up of five of the then ten members of the European Economic Community (EEC) in June 1985. In short, the Schengen-regime abolishes internal w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

borders between the member states. Thus, people can move freely between countries not only for touristic or business purposes, but they can commute and work without any problems in neighboring countries. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people take advantage of this system from Germany to Slovakia and Hungary. Trade has also been rendered much easier than before; experts calculate that the countries within the SchengenD I P L O M A C Y

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regime save a total of EUR billions annually. The ’spiritualization’ of the borders is also intended to promote and facilitate the emergence of a common European identity.

Designed for ’fair weather’ The Schengen regime allows the members states to re-impose border control for a limited period of time in case of an emergency; for instance, the Austrian Government resorted

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to this opportunity at a time of the joint Austrian-Swiss 2008 UEFA European Football Championship and the Portuguese at the time of the NATO 2010 Lisbon summit. However, the question of the free movement of people within the Schengen area and that of border control really came to a head when mass migration started to hit Europe in 2015. It turned out in no time that the Schengen-regime, much like the rest of the institutions in the European Union (EU), was designed for ’fair weather’, and begs a number of troubling questions which threaten the European unity in times of emergencies. Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy went as far as declaring that ”Schengen is dead,” while the through-and-through pro-EU Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte even evoked one of the causes of the fall of ancient Rome as a cautionary example: ”Big empires go down if the external borders are not well-protected.” At the same time, some EU-politicians, including the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, are still in denial of reality, and deny any relationship between the deteriorating security environment in Europe and the almost uncontrolled influx of migrants and refugees. In general, the migrant issue reignited the debate between the supporters of a ’United States of Europe’, that is, a federal Europe, and those who are for a ’Europe of nations’. At the same time, the further unification of Europe has also been stalled for the time being: Romania’s and Bulgaria’s application has been put on hold for some time, and there does not seem to be an appetite to admit these two countries into the Schengen regime. As the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker has recently said: Schengen is partly in coma.” Another victim of the migrant crisis is the Dublin regulation system that prescribes that the application for asylum should be handled in the country where the given asylum seeker entered the EU. Several countries have suspended transfers of asylum-seekers back to Greece under this system because they believe that there is a lack of protection and care for those who reached the shores of any of the Greek islands or mainland Greece. This issue has opened another rift within the EU between the Northern tier countries and the Club Mediterranean (Club Med) states, especially Greece and Italy. The intended distribution system of the migrants in accordance with quotas also opened a ’front’ of sorts between, among others, the Visegrád Four and the ’old’ members of the EU; the rather heated debate does

not really enhance the cohesion of the EU at a time when the geopolitical and geo-economic rivalries among the major power centers in the world would necessitate as much unity within the European Union as possible.

The economic zone This realist consideration might be one of the saviors of Schengen instead of highfalutin ideas. It seems, and opinion polls support the claim, that economic reasons are paramount if the question arises as to why the Schengen regime is important. A potential collapse of Schengen would cause substantial economic and financial damage to the member states which have built their markets on the assumption of free trade and movement. A report of the Bertelsmann Foundation concluded that ”the reintroduction of border controls would lead to a growth loss of EUR 77 billion for Germany between 2016 and 2025, and EUR 470 billion in total for the EU.” The Europe-wide cooperation and solidarity, of which Schengen is one of the basic pillars, is simply a must for the continent in the face of a presumably more protectionist American trade policy and an ever more assertive China. Both of these countries – together with Russia –, prefer, in general, bilateral trade deals with the individual European countries, and endeavor to get this way the upper hand in the negotiations. Schengen is, and may be in the future, an important element in strengthening the EU’s positions in these and other deals, as well.

A community zone Having said that, the idealistic aspect of Schengen should not be thrown out of the window, either. The free movement of the people in Europe constitutes one of the core civil liberties which the EU is supposed to provide and guarantee to the people living in the member states. Schengen is part and parcel of the commonly shared values; it does not only enhance the sense of unity and equality among the members, but also promotes mutual trust and solidarity within the community. Schengen can only survive if the member states do not treat it as an á la carte menu, and observe exclusively those regulations which are seen as beneficial in the short term. Schengen was born out of strategic thinking about the future of Europe; the tactical considerations with regard to the regime should never push the original vision into the background. To understand it, the member countries would need statesmen as leaders instead of mere politicians. Unfortunately, the former are in short supply, while there is an oversupply of the latter in Brussels and in the national capitals alike. Tamás Magyarics is a foreign policy analyst

business

UNRIVALLED EXPERIENCES MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATES CUSTOMERS IN BUDAPEST The Budapest Marriott Hotel hosted a unique event on November 7th, 2017 in its Budapest Ballroom, celebrating the Global Customer Appreciation Week, a Marriott International initiative since 1993. Once a year, the Company takes an entire week to say thank you to its most valued customers and partners around the world and to show its appreciation for their partnership with memorable events. This year, as part of this global celebratory initiative, Budapest was chosen to host this prestigious event in Eastern Europe. The event was themed ‘Unrivalled Experiences Made Together’ and it embraced the cooperation between Marriott and its most valued customers, as well as the merger between Marriott and Starwood that took place just over a year ago. Marriott International’s top management was represented by Mr. Reiner Sachau, Chief Operations Officer and Mr. Pankaj Birla, Vice President Eastern Europe. The host and the organizer, the Budapest Marriott Hotel, with the support of the other Hungarian Marriott hotels, The Ritz Carlton Budapest, Boscolo Budapest Autograph Collection, Courtyard by Marriott Budapest City Center and Four Points by Sheraton Kecskemét created a spectacular event with

the participation of around 80 Hungarian CEOs with their partners. Among the guests were representatives of the British, the American and the Dutch Chambers of Commerce as well as the Hungarian management team of SOS Children’s Villages, a charity organization which Marriott International supports globally. To mark the significance of this event for the Hungarian partners, more than 60 Marriott International general managers and top leaders from Central and Eastern Europe were taking part in the festivities as well. The hotels organizing and hosting the event were represented by their general managers and top management. The setting of the event, the decoration and the programs were beautifully packaged into a Neon themed experience, including a glass piano ‘Neon Pink’ performance and a fantastic dance show performed by ‘Dirty LED Crew’. The food and drink selection, presented in a truly creative fashion, represented the wide selection of gourmet specialties of the 30 Marriott brands. This was Marriott’s way to express gratitude to its loyal customers and business partners in an effort to further strengthen the cooperation with them.

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RICK E NDERS , GE NE RA L M A NA GE R, BUDAP E ST M A RRI OT T H OT E L A ND MILLE NNIUM C O U RT M A RRI OTT E X E C U TI VE APARTME NTS

Diplomacy-n-Trade.ai 1 2017. 02. 27. 11:22:30

photos by BENEDEK SÁS/BENEDEKSAS.COM

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business

INNOVATION AND TALENT THE 4TH SWISS BUSINESS DAY IN BUDAPEST The Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Swisscham Hungary) organized the 4th Swiss Business Day in Budapest this November aimed at economic actors and management personalities who are primarily interested in the exhibition and conference as well as job seekers and students who are more likely lured by the job market portion of the event. As Swisscham Hungary President Dr. István Béres pointed out in his welcoming speech to the participants, “we would like to demonstrate in the spirit of today’s event – ‘innovation and talent’ – what economic force, what innovation potential and how much talent lie in the world of Swiss-Hungarian economic cooperation. If you look at the booths, you will see more and more amazing innovative products and if you listen to the participants in the related panel discussions, you will hear how harmonically Swiss dedication to innovation has worked together with Hungarian creativity in creating all this.” He added that “innovation and talent go hand in hand. Therefore, we organized interesting lectures about talent management, the challenges of dual education and employment as well as on methods successfully implemented in business.”

photos by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

Full of innovation At the event’s opening ceremony, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Budapest Peter Burkhard stressed that Swiss companies have become one of the most active groups of investors in Hungary, adding that the Swiss companies operating here are continuously expanding their activities. “In the past years, investments of our companies made Switzerland one of the top investor countries in Hungary. According to the Central Statistics Office of Hungary, over 900 Swiss companies are providing jobs to more than 29,000 people in Hungary. As stated by the National Bank of Hungary, foreign direct investments (FDI) of EUR 4.82 bn. were made from Switzerland, which made my country No. 4 among investor countries in Hungary,” the Ambassador stated. He highlighted, among others, Nestlé’s recently inaugurated, HUF 20 billion (EUR 63 million) plant in Bük, the automotive company Adval Tech Plant 2 Limited’s new production hall in Szekszárd and new projects due to be launched by Stadler and several other Swiss enterprises. “The common characteristic of w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Swiss investments is that they all provide innovative access to the latest technologies, thus improving Hungary’s competitiveness”, he said. The Ambassador added that what all these investments have in common is that they are always full of innovation. “This is great news for Hungary, because as a consequence the country can benefit from the availability of the most recent technologies on the market. I am convinced that in today’s world of digitization a country can only be competitive, if it is able to maintain a high innovation capability, which is only possible, if smart people are available to make sure that these innovations are used in the most efficient way.”

Intense collaboration The Swiss Business Day was also attended by the Ambassador for European, Central Asian, Council of Europe and OSCE Affairs in the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Nicholas Brühl. In his speech, he stressed that relations between the two countries are strong and diverse. He recalled two historic events, the Reformation and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, mentioning that relations between the two countries took off during and shortly after the start of the Reformation 500 years ago during “this pivotal period of world history.” As regards the 1956 events, “12,000 Hungarians fled during this time to find a new home in Switzerland. Since then, and even more so after the democratic transition in Hungary in 1989, they have acted as solid and dynamic bridge builders between our two countries, strengthening our mutual understanding as well as contributing to the prosperity of both nations. These human ties have laid the foundation for our relations – be it of economic, scientific and cultural nature – to expand. Today, about 21,000

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Hungarian citizens live in Switzerland.” He went on to say that a new chapter in bilateral relations was opened in 2004 after Hungary joined the European Union. “While allowing for the development of trade exchanges between our countries within the single market, this accession laid the ground for increased cooperation through the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Program. Indeed, Switzerland set a high priority on supporting Hungary and the former countries of the Eastern Block when the transition took place in 1989. Since they have joined the EU in 2004, Switzerland has provided support for the countries of Central Europe through a cohesion fund of EUR 1 billion, of which EUR 100 million have

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been allocated to projects in Hungary.” Ambassador Brühl pointed out that “thanks to a good and intense collaboration between the Swiss and Hungarian partners, good to excellent results have been achieved, notably in the areas of research, health, and regional development.” He stressed that in recent years Switzerland has developed to become one of the world’s most innovative states, the achievements of which are provided for by the country’s excellent education system.

Facilitation of cooperation Also speaking at the event, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that

“Hungary’s economic strength is reinforced by the Swiss companies operating here, in view of the fact that four fifths of their production is manufactured for export.” He added that the Hungarian government has helped fund 15 major Swiss investment projects since 2014 and negotiations are ongoing with two more companies. The Minister drew investors’ attention to Eximbank’s EUR 1.7 billion euro credit line, for the facilitation of cooperation between Swiss and Hungarian enterprises, which may be applied toward investment projects that increase competitiveness, exportimport transactions or start-ups on third markets, among other options. As to challenges faced by the economy, the Minister mentioned that the conditions for competitiveness have been transformed and previously unimaginable technologies have appeared, bringing with them new legal and regulatory issues. He was of the view that in the new global economic era, success will be achieved by those who not only realize achievements in production, but also in linking production and development. “Accordingly, now that production has been successfully increased, Hungary must also become competitive within the fields of digitalization and research & development, and must convince companies that play a leading role in the new industrial revolution that it is worth not only producing here, but also realizing developments”, he added.

italy

IN THE SPIRIT OF COOPERATION ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF CULTURE BRINGS ITALY CLOSER TO HUNGARY

Close to each other He believes that there is an increasing interest in general for Italian culture in Hungary. “Italy and Hungary are quite close – by plane, the distance between Budapest and Rome is just a one and a half hour flight – and we have many things in common.

Our traditional cultural ties are well known: the Renaissance in the 15-16th centuries and the Risorgimento in the 19th century were the frames within which those ties were fastened. From the classical, traditional relations we can also pass to more recent connections between the two countries and cultures. Let me just mention the Italian actor, Carlo Pedersoli, for instance, better known to movie watchers as Bud Spencer. He is an example of contemporary cultural links between the two countries as a very good actor as well as a wonderful person. He started his career as a water polo player and that is part of the reason why he was so loved in Hungary where this sport has been very popular for many, many decades. The actor – who played in many movies with another Italian actor Mario Girotti (known as ‘Terence Hill’) – actually had his statue erected in Budapest this November.”

Part of the ‘Italian system’ A group of institutions called ‘Italian system’ in Hungary was often referred to in the previous issue of Diplomacy&Trade by the Italian Ambassador Massimo Rustico and the President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary, Francesco Maria Mari. As Dr. Gian Luca Borghese highlights,

this ‘Italian system’ has five members: the Embassy, the Institute of Culture, the Italian chamber, the ICE-Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Academy of Cuisine. “As Italy and Hungary are so close to each other, it is important to present ourselves in a combined way, we think about ourselves and promote ourselves in a combined experience. Culture has its own place within this frame. We do not only have our own cultural programs but also we are always ready to co-operate with other members of the group whenever there is a common project of local, regional or global promotion of Italy. It is sometimes not fair to distinguish culture from creativity or enterprise. That is because culture often is the engine for the promotion of business. We come from a tradition where culture was supported by patrons, people from the business world promoted and/or financed the careers of talented artists like sculptors or painters in the Renaissance – just think of Michelangelo, for instance.”

Cuisine and cinema This November, the Italian Institute of Culture took part in the promotion of gastronomy during the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. According to the Director, “there is a strong connection between Italian cuisine and Italian cinema. We have invited the public to D E C E M B E R

watch short movies devoted to the topic of food and cuisine and – at the same time – to taste some delicacies. We would also like the Hungarian public to have a better knowledge of the territories where the different gastronomic traditions of the Italian cuisine originated. During the Week, for instance, we presented the movie ‘The Last Prosecco’, a thriller which was shot in the region where prosecco is produced. It gives you information about the tradition of prosecco, the landscape, the beauty of the region and the lifestyle of the people there. So, it is a combined experience of taste, beauty, landscape and history beyond gastronomy in itself.”

Cooperation He adds that the Institute is strongly encouraged by the Ministry to co-operate with local cultural institutions for several reasons. “The local institutions have better knowledge of the place where we are supposed to operate. They have the public that usually attends their own programs and there is the possibility of mutual learning from each other. We have partner institutions like the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, the National Theater, the National Museum or the Palace of Arts in Budapest and we are also partners in a couple of local festivals. We 2 0 1 7

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support Italian presence at the art market, and as I said, at the international book festival. Usually, in every sector, we have local partners with which we are more than happy to develop common projects. When we join forces with the local institutions, we can also achieve a media coverage that is much stronger and much more extensive than if we do it on our own.”

Plans In the very near future, in 2018, the Institute will concentrate its efforts on contemporary dance, which is another sector that the Institute considers very important. Here, there is no need for words, the message is immediate, there is no language barrier. “There will be, of course, traditional events like the international book festival in April, and to be better prepared for it, I will attend a thematic fair in Italy this December. I go there every year to have knowledge about the latest developments on the publishing market so that I can propose worthy novelties to the international book festival in Budapest. There will also be concerts with great Hungarian orchestras, starting with a New Year's concert in the middle of January, once again, in the spirit of cooperation: a Hungarian orchestra with an Italian director,” Dr. Gian Luca Borghese concludes.

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The Embassy of Italy in Budapest is keen on promoting the current Italian cultural scene because Italian classical culture is very well-known in Hungary and thus, they strive to present the less known or up and coming new artists, intellectuals, specialists and main protagonists of the Italian cultural scene.” As Dr. Gian Luca Borghese, the Cultural Attaché of the Italian Embassy in Budapest and the Director of the Italian Institute of Culture now explains to Diplomacy&Trade, the Institute is still convinced that it is important to provide better knowledge of Italian contemporary culture, as well as to give more visibility to its representatives: young musicians, writers and other young artists. One great opportunity for young writers to present themselves to the public is the annual International Book Festival of Budapest where Italians have scored great successes in the ‘first novel author’ category, he says. “At the same time, I don't think we should forget about or even less, totally neglect our classical culture, because there are sectors where classical culture is the main inspiration for contemporary creativity. Classical culture might inspire, for instance, photography, design and fashion, so, I think we can link many of these cultural expressions back to classical culture,” he adds. The works of the young Italian authors invited to the book fair often get published in Hungarian. “We have a program of financial support for Hungarian publishing houses. They undertake the job of translating into Hungarian the works of selected Italian authors. We have an application system for financing such projects. I have to judge these applications and write a report with my observations. Then, the report is sent to our Ministry in Rome where a decision is made about which and how many applications can be supported. Of course, it is a competition with other project plans sent to the Ministry from other countries all over the world. I try my best to have as many successful applications as possible for projects in Hungary,” the Director points out.

HELPING CLIENTS TO GROW AND SUCCEED

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DIGITALIZATION IS A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR CIB BANK

need to ask for such help thanks to our conservative approach to business.” In agreement with that, István Szabó points out that Intesa Sanpaolo does not only have enormous wealth of experience and solid capital position but “it has also built a decent network in the region. Clients need to be served not only locally nowadays, but also regionally and internationally and that is what the Group, including CIB Bank, does. Our clients can rest assured that one of Europe's strongest financial institution is managing their wealth.” CIB Bank values include honesty, excellence, transparency, honoring individual characteristics, equal treatment, individual values and responsible use of resources. According to the Head of the Multinational Clients Desk, “adhering to all these values, especially honesty and transparency, is crucial in our day-to-day relations with our clients as well as with our employees. I personally believe in team work, but honoring individual specialties creates distinctive values in the team.” István Szabó adds that CIB encourages its colleagues to do the right things right. “We value diversity, openness, constructive feedback and challenging, as well as the team spirit. We are convinced that beyond this, being an extremely productive culture also ensures that we have a good mood in our offices. By internalizing – and living with – this attitude, it becomes a very efficient working place.”

photo by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

Premium services to corporate clients CIB Bank has been in Hungary for almost four decades. As to what sort of experience its management and staff have gathered over this period to make their work more efficient, the Head of the Corporate Division of the bank, István Szabó tells Diplomacy&Trade that “we are a universal financial services provider, active in all the segments of the banking market in Hungary. We have a very deep knowledge and understanding of all client segments and industries, and we have had the pleasure to play a significant role in all the business lines both through good times and challenging times. We believe that throughout this journey, we have learnt what it takes to be a good bank and a solid financial partner. Indeed, we have been here for almost four decades (since 1979) and we will be here for decades to come.” The Head of the Multinational Clients Desk at CIB Bank, Marco Sisti points out that Intesa Sanpaolo group’s first bank was founded back in 1563. During the 20th century, there was a very strong expansion in the Group’s international network and its first bank in the Central and Eastern w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

European (CEE) area was CIB in Hungary. “Since 1979, we have gone through different economic periods and phases. We were, and we are making business with all segments, from retail to corporate. Our bank has been supporting the community throughout its history, we are a bank our customers can trust.” He adds that the positive experience gathered in Hungary helped the Group to manage more recent acquisitions in the area, especially in how to react to market changes, improve organization and products. “Our Hungarian experience made it possible to understand conditions and how to make business in Central and Eastern Europe.”

Digitalization According to István Szabó, “our ultimate goal is to provide end-to-end digital services to all of our clients in all client segments, allowing them to manage their finances faster, safer and in a smooth and convenient manner, wherever they are, whoever they are and whatever we can assist them with. Basically, the main focus of this project we launched last year is to create the building blocks of a continuum in which clients upload

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information electronically and eventually, once the proper legal environment is created, even deliver and sign contracts. This may sound science fiction these days, but the time will come. Obviously, it needs a lot of investment and a lot of effort.” Marco Sisti stresses that in the past, digitalization was always considered as a cost factor, rather then an investment. “Today, it is a business opportunity and without this, we just simply cannot go further. The era of ‘big data’ has arrived and you can study the clients’ behavior and figure out which products to offer in a tailormade way.” He says it is evident that current branch-based distribution models are no longer sustainable in most developed countries but most importantly are unable to meet the rapidly evolving customer needs and requests for easy access and simplicity across their banking services. “CIB Bank has an award-winning mobile application which is available for corporate clients as well and we are now upgrading a new internet banking platform for international cash payments, especially for corporate and multinational clients. Our customers are able to get a personal loan, make

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payments or resolve credit-card billing disputes – all without ever setting foot in a physical branch. A good international platform is a key product for multinational clients.” Additionally, the Head of CIB Corporate Division highlights that “corporate clients communicate with us electronically through a system that we will upgrade next year. All the instructions regarding cash management transactions go through digitally and all reports are produced digitally. So, beyond business discussions, which happen face-toface, client to-banker, all businesses are concluded electronically.”

Solid background and values Behind CIB Bank, with huge financial assets, extensive experience and an international network, is the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, the largest banking group in Italy by market capitalization. As to what that means for the bank and its clients, Marco Sisti says the main advantage is proven solidity. He finds it important to stress that CIB Bank is part of a Banking Group which was not getting any help from the EU in the past, not even during the world financial crisis. “We did not

“Basically, we aim to become a trusted partner with whom clients can share their ideas, challenges they face, and their development and investment plans. We are focusing on providing solutions, rather than products, that cater even to the most complex needs of our clients. We want to have an open relationship with the clients where they do not just come to us with their needs but we also share their concerns and challenges they face, the problems they have. We like them to come to us as a trusted advisor not just as a bank that caters to them with the right product. Basically, we are there to help them to grow, to help them to succeed,” the Head of Corporate Division points out. Marco Sisti agrees that the biggest value is the relationship. “We have a dedicated team for international clients as we know how difficult it is to make business in a competitive international environment. Our international network is at our clients’ disposal with specialists in every country ready to support in local issues. Since Intesa Sanpaolo is headquartered in Italy, we brought into CIB a dedicated group of bankers and product specialists prepared to support Italian and international companies, ready to facilitate their operation in Hungary.”

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ITALY’S ‘RECOGNIZABLE VOICE’ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH WORLD-RENOWNED TENOR ANDREA BOCELLI For more than twenty years, Andrea Bocelli has been one of the most loved and most popular stars in the world. After two years, the singer returned to Budapest in November for a truly special concert. The Italian tenor is blessed with two exceptional talents. His unique voice is immediately recognizable; it is full and powerful, ranging from belcanto to verismo, from lyrical repertoire to popular ballads. Fate also gave him a different kind of ability when his hereditary glaucoma disease worsened due to a childhood accident and he lost his sight. He began to see with his heart – that is why he is able to feel, see and pass on the secrets of the soul in his songs so perfectly.

Son of the land

From ‘recognizable voice’ to world fame Today, the whole world knows Andrea Bocelli’s great voice. The Maestro says that he has always had the talent of a recognizable voice. “Relatives, friends, my father’s employees would come over asked me to sing. And I gladly did it, because though, I was still a child, I was a passionate opera lover.” He recalls that one day, his primary school teacher warned him: “Remember that God has given you a gift and of this gift, you have no merit.” When he was a self-taught teenager, he used to sing what he loved most. His studying became more systematic and serious when, at the age of eighteen, he entrusted himself to Maestro Luciano Bettarini. “Thanks to him, I learned the rigor of singing. Years

later, I then had the honor to perfect myself with Franco Corelli,” he adds. It was not an easy road to world fame as his talent developed into that magical voice. “I came to fame when I was around 35 years of age – quite late, after a lot of doors were closed in my face, and after many disappointed hopes. The turning point in my artistic career was the victory at the Sanremo Music Festival. Before that, even though, I had never thought of abandoning music, I was almost sure that my professional future would be essentially linked to the legal profession,” he remembers.

Duet at a boxing match Andrea Bocelli has set records in selling albums in both classical crossover and pop categories. ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ topped charts across Europe for a long time and it is still very popular. When asked how the idea came to record this duet with Sarah Brightman, the Maestro recalls that “it was my staff who had the idea of recording an international version of the song, choosing to match my voice with the one of a great British stars, and it was a bright idea, indeed. The song became a planetary success

when it was performed in a duet with Sarah Brightman during the last boxing match of acclaimed German boxer Henry Maske, who had chosen this song as the soundtrack for his good-bye to the ring. The 1996 event, followed by all German media, ended with the triumphant and touching goodbye of the sportsman to the notes of ‘Time to Say goodbye’... The match was watched by 21 million viewers and, in a certain way, that night started my international career. This is a melody to which I feel grateful, and it is undeniable that it has become, in its own way, a classic, everywhere, able to excite, to enter the hearts of people.”

‘Beauty civilization’ Looking at the international music scene, one has the perception that Italians especially give many outstanding singers to the world. When asked his view about this, the Maestro highlights that there are over a billion people who speak languages derived from Latin and Italian is one of them. “It is a language that I love very much because it is the one that I have grown up with, and of which I know the many nuances. It is also the language that, around four hundred D E C E M B E R

years ago, shaped melodrama: in fact, opera is strictly connected with words, with the intrinsic musicality of the Italian language. That said, I believe that every language has marvelous expressive potential and a specific musicality of its own. As to the fact that my country has been – and to a certain extent still is – a foundry of great interpreters can be linked to that ‘beauty civilization’ that my country is able to express... As I often say, Italy is a land whose natural beauty and wealth of artistic masterpieces never stop making me feel proud.”

Family wine Andrea Bocelli happened to perform at the Budapest Sportarena at the same time the Hungarian capital hosted a series of Italian gastronomy and cultural events, ‘The week of Italian cuisine’. As wine-making is part of his family’s tradition, the obvious question is whether Hungary could be a good market to promote/popularize Bocelli wines. “Why not,” he asks. “Hungary produces extraordinary wines and has strong traditions and a prestigious multi-century wine culture. I am a consumer and a supporter of Bocelli wines, my role is especially 2 0 1 7

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affective: my brother and his wife have taken the reins of the winemaking company. But I am very proud of this family venture, conceived essentially to honor and pass on the great love that our father, Sandro Bocelli had for his vineyards. The same love that we try to pass on to our children.”

Returning to Budapest This was not the first time Andrea Bocelli performed in Hungary. Previously, he sang in the Basilica in Budapest. “I remember well the concert realized at the Basilica of Santo Stefano, under the project ‘The Great Mystery’, a high value spiritual initiative, focused on the great power of families in society. It was a moment of prayer expressed through singing. The one this year, at the Papp László Sportarena, has been different, lighter, though, bright and positive, very touching, indeed. I always receive a warm and affectionate welcome on the part of the Budapest audience, and it is a great joy for me to sing for such a receptive and generous audience, ready to get excited and emotional and to share music, experiencing a common élan towards beauty,” the Maestro concludes.

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Whenever time allows, Bocelli always returns to Lajatico, his home town in Tuscany. This place is the ‘center of the world’ for him, as he explains in an exclusive interview with Diplomacy&Trade. “The center of the world is where you feel at home, where you perceive your roots, where you have your dearest memories and where you have been tightening the friendships that are accompanying you throughout your life. Lajatico is a human-sized reality, where you can still perceive the changing of seasons, where silence, as well as the many voices of nature, are still perceptible. The world is full of marvelous places, and I have seen many, in almost a quarter of a century of peregrinations linked to my profession. But I am the son of that land in the Valdera, of that corner of Tuscany that has seen me grow...I am, I myself, the fruit of that peasant culture and of the values that have permeated it over time.”

DECORATIONS Festive

PREPARE FOR HOLIDAYS WITH FERRERO

Elegant decorating ideas on Geschmackvolle Dekorationen zumwww.ferreroünnepidekor.hu Fest aus dem Hause

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EVOLUTIONS IN GASTRONOMY

Values of the South At next year’s Sirha fair in Budapest, Luigi Cremona will be the guest of honor. When asked how special the gastronomy of the southern Italian provinces that will be presented at the fair and how different a pizza made in Naples from those baked elsewhere in Italy, the gastronomy expert points out that “although, I have not yet received the list of companies and products that will be presented on this occasion, I am aware of the values of the south and I am sure it will be a discovery for local gourmets who know better the food in northern Italy, such as Parma ham and Parmigiano reggiano, which are traditionally more organized and represented abroad. The south of Italy has a basket of extraordinary excellences, often small producers, and this sometimes represents a limit to its spread and presence abroad.” Regarding the Pizza Napoletana, he says there are various schools of thought: the classic Neapolitan, soft and with an imposing rim (cornicione), the low and slim Roman, while that of northern Italy has a mix of various flours and different techniques, etc. “Today, the pizza world in Italy is undergoing a great evolution, and is enjoying great public and critical success.”

THE SOUTH OF ITALY CHERISHES TWO ‘SOULS’: CREATIVITY AND TRADITION

of Italian gastronomy in Hungary is. A year ago, he was one of the Italian guests at the first ‘Week of the Italian cuisine’ in Hungary, hosted by the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) in Budapest, presenting Italian gastronomy to Hungarian professionals. “I did not receive any particular feedback from Budapest on the presentation of the products, but I hope there has been a positive return for the companies.

In general, the image of gastronomic Italy is high throughout the world, I hope and I believe this is also the case in Hungary.” As for Hungarian gastronomy, Luigi Cremona says he has relatively little knowledge of – and connection with – it. “I know Budapest only but in these few years I felt to experience a remarkable evolution and a great improvement of basic techniques in top restaurants.”

Tomorrow's dining Molecular gastronomy is now part of fine dining enjoyed by the elite of restaurant-goers. When asked whether he thinks this and similar experimental attempts will at some point form part of the meals of everyday people, the food critic stresses that “it is difficult to foresee the future. I think, however, that tomorrow's dining will

Creativity and tradition Last year, Luigi Cremona told Diplomacy&Trade that he was amazed by molecular gastronomy but he hoped that “chefs who create spherical ravioli, porchetta ice cream and ‘pig’s ear lollipop’ can cook a good pasta arrabiata, too.” This statement raises several questions in the reader: how he – as one of the greatest experts and presenters of Italian gastronomy – sees this evolution in Italy and especially the southern regions; whether chefs tend to move towards the new things or stay with the traditional cuisine of pizza, pasta, vegetables, salads, and how he would define Italian gastronomy in general. “In the kitchen, technique is important and is at the basis of its growth. The south of Italy has a very important heritage as far as traditional recipes are concerned and the world is jealous (rightly) so much of its wealth which would be a pity to squander. I guess that a fair balance between the two souls (creativity and tradition) is the best suggestion where to go,” the gastronomy expert concludes.

LUIGI CREMONA PORTRAYED AS ANTON EGO IN THE 2007 MOVIE 'RATATOUILLE'

photo by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

Renowned Italian gastronomy expert, critic and journalist, Luigi Cremona will be in Hungary again next February to attend the Sirha 2018 gastronomy and HoReCa (hotel, restaurant and catering) fair in Budapest. Apropos of the promotion campaign of Italian gastronomy this November (the second ‘Week of Italian Cuisine in the World’), Diplomacy&Trade asked him what he believes the image

be much more varied than today's: not only trattorie (family dining), and restaurants, but many different service style environment alternatives will cohabit because people go out much more often and are looking for different situations, environments and prices.”

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italy renew our technology, we wanted to modernize our plant in order to be able to produce meat more efficiently and in better quality. The problem was that banks were not very keen on supporting this idea. It was a difficult period. Fortunately, the municipality of Kaposvár put capital into our company as a financial investor. The government supported two other meat processing plants (in Gyula and Pápa), directly. We did not only receive financial support from the municipality but also from a professional one, and it was a positive pressure. All of this meant that, within three years, we were able to double our turnover. When in early 2013, the municipality of Kaposvár entered into an agreement with us with a capital injection, our company’s turnover was HUF 18 billion and we employed 470 people. Close to five years later, the turnover is 42 billion and we provide jobs for more than 700 people directly and hundreds more indirectly. We pay the town of Kaposvár over HUF one billion in local taxes and yields. We are very grateful to the municipality but I believe it has been good business for them, as well. Both the municipality and Kométa can be proud of what we have achieved together, that is, that in Kaposvár, there still is a traditional meat processing company.”

TASTE AND RESPONSIBILITY

Tastes and responsibility

photo by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

KOMÉTA IS HUNGARY’S SECOND LARGEST MEAT PROCESSING COMPANY

“I am the fifth of nine children of a farming family, coming from the Valtellina region in northern Italy. I decided to move to Hungary in 1994. As farmers, we have passion for agriculture, we have passion for the land, and through our farmer’s eyes Hungary looks very much like paradise because of its good soil, generous land and really green landscape. Hungary has basically everything that one needs to farm, to breed, to produce good food,” the Managing Director and the owners' representative at Hungary’s second largest meat processing company, Kométa 99 Zrt., Giacomo Pedranzini tells Diplomacy&Trade. “I had travelled to this country a couple of times before 1994. The early 1990s was the period of land privatization in Hungary. Unfortunately, it was also the time when Hungarian meat processing companies were in crisis. Among them, Kaposvári Húskombinát was in liquidation. We decided to w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

come to Hungary and buy it.” This year, Kométa is going to have a turnover of over HUF 42 billion, employing about 700 people. The Managing Director notes that “we are very proud that more than half of our products (55%) are delivered to the Hungarian consumer with the rest exported. We are the market leader in cold cuts but we are also very strong with our Prague Ham and in the frankfurter category; I believe our Wienerwurst is the top seller in Hungary. Our ‘secret’ behind this quality is very simple: our products contain very good Hungarian meat!”

less smoked and has a different taste. Let me repeat: we are lucky because of the traditional and outstanding quality of the Hungarian salami is known in many different countries and this helps open doors to the retailers, giving us the possibility to sell multiple types of our products under the Kométa brand. Let’s take Poland, for instance, a country that is not too far from Hungary but has a strong pork industry. We are proud that we are able to sell them our Hungarian salami and also our Benvenuto Cotto ham – this is what it's really important!”

Exporting Hungarian taste

Feedback

As regards export products, Giacomo Pedranzini highlights that they take into account the different tastes of people in the destination countries “but we have a big advantage: fortunately, Hungarian salami is well known everywhere and its taste is accepted and popular in many areas. In certain countries like Italy, this is not the case, therefore, in Italy, we sell a lot of Italian types of Hungarian salami, which is

Regarding reactions from customers, “the first and foremost feedback is when we look at the turnover numbers, product by product, you can easily see that the good products’ numbers are growing and the products that are not that good are stagnating or even decreasing. So, this is the first feedback we get as number are talking in a very neutral way. One fine example is the Wienerwurst whose (sales) price is about to HUF 1,000

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per kilogram. We started making this product about ten years ago and since then, every year has shown growth. It is because when the consumers tries it, they like it and although, it is not the cheapest frankfurter on the market, they still prefer this one because they believe it is worth the price,” he says.

Good deal with Kaposvár As the Managing Director recalls, “when we first arrived in Hungary in the early 1990s, the Hungarian meat industry was still very strong and very well known in different export markets. At that time, there were at least another ten companies of similar size to the one in Kométa today. Hungarian meat was well known but, unfortunately, in the first decade or so of the new millennium, we went through a very difficult crisis. Many of our competitors were closing down and it was not an easy for Kométa, either. I think what we did differently from our competitors, even during the crisis, was that we invested. We wanted to

Paying local taxes is not the only way in which Kométa supports the community in Kaposvár. “I think it is the most natural thing that we, as the biggest employer in the town, as well as the first second biggest taxpayer in the region, try to play a positive social role by supporting different institutions of education, like the one that assists disadvantaged children. We are very proud to support them. Just a few months ago, we started a cooperation with the Hungarian Food Bank Association, which is part of a very well-known European organization. We already worked with the similar Banco Alimentari in Italy. We do not only give this Hungarian organization products that are in our stores or warehouses for too long but we try every week to donate something to help those who cannot afford to buy good food,” Giacomo Pedranzini points out. Finally, he says he would also like to mention something in which he very strongly believes. “We have a very simple slogan: ‘Ízekkel és felősséggel egy új generációért’ (With tastes and responsibility for a new generation). This slogan really covers what we mean: we wish to care for the new generation, for our children – and we want to do that with responsibility. That is the reason why and how we try to play our role of responsibility in society.”

LOVE LETTER TO THE HOMELAND

ITALIAN FILM DIRECTOR PAYS HOMAGE TO THE PROSECCO HILLS

WITH MOVIE

One of the aims of the Italian week in Budapest this November was to support the application of the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene for the title ‘UNESCO’s Intangible

Cultural Heritage’. In the framework of the campaign, the movie ‘Finché c'è prosecco c'è speranza’ (As long as there is prosecco, there is hope), which debuted at Festival Venezia 2017, was screened for the first time in Hungary and

PIZZA WITH PASSION

This November, the ‘Week of the Italian cuisine’ was held in Budapest, for the second time, organized by the Embassy of Italy in conjunction with the Italian Institute of Culture, the Italian Agency of Foreign

followed by a tasting of the famous wine. The director of the film, Antonio Padovan was born and raised in Venice, Italy, but has lived in America for a long time. He told Diplomacy&Trade, before the premier of his full-length

NEAPOLITAN PIZZA MASTER AT ITALIAN GASTRONOMY WEEK IN BUDAPEST

Trade (ICE), the Italian Tourism Agency (ENIT), the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary and the Italian Academy of Cuisine. The series of events brought into the limelight Italian quality cuisine and the story of the Italian countryside.

The program included the presence in Budapest of pizza maker Fabio Cristiano, the founder of the "Scuola di pizzaiolo” (Pizza maker school) in Naples. As Fabio Cristiano explained to Diplomacy&Trade, he is a third D E C E M B E R

feature film, that he went to New York City as an architect but he always liked films and he managed to get a film scholarship there. “After finishing the one-year course, I decided not to go back to Italy because my girlfriend, my friends, my job all tied me to New York City.” Most of his films have been shot in the West Village neighborhood of New York City. “I like this city a lot. It is a place where a lot of different people live together, they live nicely together and all this reflects my idea of the world,” the director said. Although, he lives in the United States, he chose an Italian theme for his first full-length feature film. “This is the first time that a movie has been shot around the hills where I was born. Those are the hills where they make Prosecco wine, an area about 40 kilometers from Venice in the northeast of Italy. I have been living in New York City for almost 12 years and in the past few years, I have felt the need to come back home. With this new job, I found a way to pay homage to my land. It was a little bit of nostalgia, a little bit of my wish to show to the world the place where I was born and grew up. For me, it is almost like a love letter to my hometown.” The film follows Inspector Stucky investigating a series of murders and the theatrical suicide of Desiderio Ancillotto, a count who lives in the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in a story that recounts the conflict between greed and respect for the land. “I think

the movie has a very strong message about justice. The bad guys seem to be the good guys and vice versa. It is very hard for the main character to understand who the bad guy is, but also, he talks about the environment and how we want to either make money very quickly or think about how we live. In a way, he celebrates a lifestyle that is a little bit slower, takes his time and enjoys a slower rhythm,” the director summarized. Antonio Padovan gave up being an architect but he still likes architecture. “I really like the environment, a little bit like Woody Allen did as the city became a character in his films. My set designer said I am a ‘pain in the ass’ because I am always checking every detail. He said ‘hey, you should look at the actors not the background! However, I still use my architect’s eye.” He explained why he works as a writer and film director. “This prosecco movie was taken from a book of the same title and I wrote the movie script together with the writer of the novel. I do not think I could direct a movie that was written for somebody else or write a movie for another director. So far, I have been lucky that I can do both. Also, when I write I already know how I want to see it done. I am a director in the first place and writing is what I have to go through to get the movie done properly – it is part of the job. Some people like to write more, I just prefer to direct.”

generation pizzaiolo (pizza maker). “The family business was started by my grandfather who opened his first pizzeria in 1952. In Naples, I have a pizzeria called ‘Pizzeria Da Gennaro’ named after my grandfather but Gennaro is also the patron saint of the city of Naples.” When asked the secret of making a good Neapolitan pizza, the pizza master just smiles and says “a secret is a secret. If I tell you, then, it will not be a secret, anymore. Actually, the secret is passion. Passion is very important for us, but the real secret lies in the local ingredients: the Neapolitan flour as well as Neapolitan tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and basil used in the toppings – all local produce. We have favorable weather conditions to produce all these.” One sign of how seriously Fabio Cristiano takes his profession is that he has studied the different types of flour scientifically. What he has found important is the gluten content of the flour. “I use a special mix of flours, a good blend, produced in the vicinity of Naples, to make the Neapolitan pizza. In addition to the quantity of gluten, the water absorption ability of the flour is also very important. If you have more gluten than necessary the levitation of the dough takes longer while if the amount of gluten is too small, then, the levitation of the dough is too fast.

The best W value (an indicator that measures the flour strength) for the pizza is 250,” the pizzaiolo highlights. His ‘Scuola di Pizzaiolo’, started ten years ago in Naples, offering one month long courses, is attended by 100 to 150 students a year. “It is called ‘school’ but everything takes place in a real pizzeria. The courses are held in a real work atmosphere, under real working conditions for 5-6 hours a day. Every day, we make around 200 pizzas and the students work with us in making this many pizzas, going through all the stages of pizza making, starting by preparing the dough in the morning until putting it to the oven. When a student finishes the school he or she is ready to go out and be a pizza maker himself or herself.” As to what he thinks of pizzas made in other parts of Italy, Fabio Cristiano stresses that “for me pizza is pizza – it can be good wherever it is made in the world. However, one thing is important: please, never ever put pineapple on the pizza because it is the death of Neapolitan pizza!” A piece of advice for youngsters who want to become a master pizza maker like him, Fabio Cristiano says “come to my land, come to Italy, look around and get the feeling! When you live in Naples, in Italy, you see that people are happy there.”

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CELEBRATING ITALIAN GASTRONOMY SECOND WORLDWIDE ‘WEEK OF THE ITALIAN CUISINE’ promotion of wine gastronomy traditions through a communication campaign on Facebook and a raffle of premium Italian products among participants. Also, a round table was devoted to Italian quality food of extraordinary value and the presentation of Italian food culture based on the Mediterranean diet. Other events included screenings of films, thematic documentaries and the photographic exhibition ‘Food at one click’.

Evening of authentic Italian food and wine of excellence

buffet was a wonderful opportunity to experience the rich flavors of the Apulian and Mediterranean cuisine, provided by I Fiori dell’Orto e Cara Nonna. A special selection of wines, including sparkling wines made with an ancestral fermentation method from the cellar of Antonio Pisante, accompanied the meals. Furthermore, these products were presented in compliance with the GREENWILL sustainable catering checklist, promoting the sustainable catering sector with the hope of creating long-lasting change in favor of eco-friendly practices as green catering connects environmentally conscious clients with caterers adopting sustainable practices.

THE EXTRAORDINARY

Organized by EuCham, in collaboration with the GREENWILL Sustainable Catering Initiative, a special culinary delight, whipped up by the (Michelin starred) master chef Domenico Cilenti, awaited guests at this event of the ‘Week of the Italian cuisine’. The

ITALIAN TASTE

THE EXCELLENCE OF THE ITALIAN AGRI-FOOD SECTOR IN THE WORLD

photo by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

For the second time the ‘Week of the Italian cuisine’ took place this November throughout the world. In Budapest, the Embassy of Italy – together with the Italian Institute of Culture, the Italian Agency of Foreign Trade (ICE), the Italian Tourism Agency (ENIT), the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary and the Italian Academy of Cuisine – created a series of events that brought into the limelight Italian quality cuisine and the story of the Italian countryside. This second ‘Week of the Italian cuisine’ focused on the inseparable pairing of ‘quality kitchen and wine’ combined with tasting evenings at restaurants that joined the initiative; on the presentation of Italy’s small historical towns and villages and on the presentation/

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latin america forum A FORUM FOR INVESTING IN THE FUTURE INTENSIFYING COOPERATION BETWEEN HUNGARY AND LATIN AMERICA

DIPLOMACY&TRADE What are currently the main fields of cooperation between Hungary and the countries of Latin America and what are the prospects for the future? SZILVESZTER BUS The Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, an exceptional program in the Central European region is aimed at attracting the most talented students to Hungary from a growing list of countries. The investment has proved to be fruitful as this academic year has seen the enrollment of nearly 300 Stipendium Hungaricum beneficiaries from Latin America who will hopefully maintain their bond with our nation, wherever their career takes them. Sustainable water management is another key issue for our Latin American partners, where Hungarian expertise is widely acknowledged. In 2016, half of our Latin American export was related to the automotive industry. It is also vital to emphasize the presence of Hungarian communities all around Latin America, the largest in São Paulo, as their wellbeing is essential to our policy.

and identifying specific opportunities for cooperation on the spot, even within a pragmatic, business framework. On the occasion of the Forum, Diplomacy&Trade asked Hungarian Deputy State Secretary for the ‘Opening to the South’ policy, Szilveszter Bus, about Hungary’s relations with the Latin American region. DIPLOMACY&TRADE As this was the third Hungary – Latin America Forum, what was the experience and feedback from the two previous forums that convinced the Ministry to hold this year’s event?

SZILVESZTER BUS The first Forum, held in March 2012, was a unique project – no other country in the region had held similar events in the region – to attract leading Latin American decision-makers, from the public and private sectors, to Budapest, to map opportunities for cooperation and enhance their engagement with Hungary. This was during a period when our ties to the region were beginning to revitalize. The practical outcome was successful, so, in October 2015, within the framework of the Opening to the South policy, a second Forum took place, with delegations from 14 Latin American countries and more than 200 Hungarian participants. The repeated success established the Forum as a tradition and its important mission, in connecting Hungary (and Europe) with Latin America, cannot be overstated. The title of this year’s edition, ‘Knowledge and Development: Investment in the Future’ proves that the event is more relevant than ever, and Latin American interest in the Forum has grown far beyond what we could have possibly imagined in 2012. With over 220 participants, more than 50 arriving directly from Latin America, the third edition of the Forum is the most successful one in the series, so far. D E C E M B E R

DIPLOMACY&TRADE What position does Latin America hold in Hungarian diplomacy, in trade and investment and other relations?

DIPLOMACY&TRADE In general, how successful has the Opening to the South policy of the government been, so far, in your view?

SZILVESZTER BUS Hungary signed its first trade treaties with Latin American nations in the 19th century, and in the 20th century, especially in the ‘70s, when the region became a major destination for Hungary’s flagship export items (buses, pharmaceutical products and machinery). However, the new political landscapes of the ‘90s rearranged our country’s foreign policy priorities, resulting in an alarmingly diminishing diplomatic presence in the region: only four out of our twelve embassies from 1990 remained active two decades later. This trend had to be reversed, and within the framework of the Opening to the South, the Government decided to open embassies in Santiago de Chile, Quito, Lima and Bogotá, along with a Consulate General in São Paulo. No other country has opened or reopened so many missions in Latin America during the past three years (not to mention the countless new Hungarian embassies in other parts of the world). There is a trade coordinator working at all of our missions in the region, and the network of the Hungarian

SZILVESZTER BUS The experiences and results of the Opening to the South have been encouraging. The policy is a comprehensive strategy developed as a response to the rapid social and economic changes taking place in many African and Latin American states, and it is satisfying to witness Hungary’s growing visibility in these regions. Beyond the positive economic tendencies, our cooperation has been intensifying in diverse fields ranging from education to innovative technologies, and our extended network of diplomats and business experts are constantly searching for new projects to develop. It seems very fortunate that our interest in the focus countries of the Opening to South was manifested before that of our neighbors because Hungary managed to position itself as the main Central European partner for some states that produce impressive figures of economic growth. I am confident that these positive dynamics and already significant achievements will serve as the basis for the next phase of our engagement with the South.

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photos by MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, SZILÁRD KOSZTICSÁK/MTI

The Hungarian government declared its ‘Opening to the South’ policy in spring 2015, focusing on Latin America. This has facilitated relations between Hungary and the region: several diplomatic missions were reopened, new trade representations were set up, the network of trade attachés was expanded and deeper institutional and contractual relations were established with the region. The motto of the 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum, organized by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs this November, was ‘Knowledge and Development: Investing in the Future’, indicating that the Hungarian government is giving preference to new, long-term and modern forms of cooperation and wishes to further reinforce the wide-ranging relations between Hungary and Latin America already achieved within the framework of the Southern Opening strategy. The meeting attracted an unprecedented level of attention, with some 220 participants, 100 of them from abroad. The rank and significance of the event was raised by the fact that the Columbian Foreign Minister, Ecuador’s Minister of Telecommunications and the President of the EULatin America Foundation were all present at the Forum. In addition to fostering existing fields of cooperation, the Forum provided a unique occasion for participants to exchange experiences and identify new opportunities, especially in the areas of scientific, technological and underlying educational cooperation. Events connected to the Forum (study tours and a business forum) offered a genuine opportunity for networking

National Trading House is also present in Latin America. In 2016, our export to the region surpassed one billion euros and this year, the data for the first eight months has been very remarkable, so far, indicating an outstanding growth of 49%.

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INCREASED INTEREST FROM BRAZIL VISEGRÁD FOUR – BRAZIL MEETING IN BUDAPEST

A meeting was held between the Visegrád Group countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and Brazil this November on the sidelines of the 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum in Budapest. The encounter, attended from the Brazilian side by Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary General for International Cooperation, Trade Promotion and Cultural Themes, Santiago Irazabal Mourão, was chaired by Deputy State Secretary in the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Szilveszter Bus who pointed out that “the meeting indicates the importance that we attribute to one of Latin America’s most determining countries, as well as pointing to the increasing interest and attention that Brazil is showing towards Europe’s best-performing region.” The Brazilian party praised the Hungarian government’s ‘Southern Opening’ strategy launched in 2015, the increasing Hungarian presence in Latin America and the fact that the current Hungarian Presidency of the V4 is placing outstanding emphasis on global relations with

non-EU countries. The V4-Brazil foreign affairs and trade meeting, which discussed several existing and potential fields of cooperation, was in line with these endeavors. Brazil is one of the European Union’s most important partners in Latin America, and has been one of the EU’s nine strategic partners since 2007. The participants discussed the global problems that affect both Europe and Latin America, the issue of international migration and the global water crisis, as well as current security challenges. A statement by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade quotes the head of the Brazilian delegation as saying that Brazil highly esteems the strong cohesion between the countries of the Visegrád Group, and their outstanding economic performance. This is one of the starting points based on which the parties would primarily like to tighten links within the fields of business relations, the innovative economy and tourism and concentrate on sectors in which joint V4 action and promotion could be advantageous with relation to Brazil.

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Brazil photo by MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

RIO DE JANEIRO • SAO PAULO • BELO HORIZONTE BRASILIA • BELÉM • SALVADOR • FORTALEZA RECIFE • NATAL • PORTO ALEGRE

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BRIDGES FOR INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP THE EUROPEAN UNION IS CHILE’S THIRD COMMERCIAL PARTNER BY VERÓNICA CHAHIN, THE AMBASSADOR OF CHILE

November 16 this year saw the start of the first round of negotiations between the EU and Chile for a modernized Association Agreement to update the 14-year-old association agreement, to bring its political and cooperative ambitions and trade provisions into line with the EU’s modern agreements. At present, the European

Union is Chile’s third commercial partner, and thanks to the Southern Opening Policy of the Government of Hungary, the commercial exchange with Chile has grown steadily for the third consecutive year. Furthermore, last August, a Work and Holiday Agreement allowing youngsters from both countries to work or study in the other for up to

one year was initiated. As a most recent development, last week, a memorandum of understanding was signed in the field of education between the ‘Agrupación de Universidades Regionales’ (a group of regional universities) that represents 22 of the 27 universities in Chile and the Conference of Rectors of Hungary. In the fall of

SHARING COMMON INTERESTS

ARGENTINA AND HUNGARY COINCIDE IN OPENING TO THE WORLD BY MAXIMILIANO CERNADAS, THE AMBASSADOR OF ARGENTINA

The 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum has shown the deepening of two tendencies carried by the Hungarian Government. First, the successful new edition of this superb initiative, confirmed the fierce involvement of the Hungarian Government towards Latin America, consistent with the ‘Opening to the South’ policy implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Secondly, the political and organizational skills shown at this international meeting, gathering many countries and sectors around top items of the World’s agenda, with a continental market of 20 countries, 22 millions of km2, 626 million people and USD 10,000 billion of GDP, has proven the decision and capacity of the Hungarian Government to play an increasing role in the global arena. From a general point of view, the benefits of this Forum are the strengthening of both state and

private networks between the leading country of Central Europe, and one of the biggest market regions of the world. With this Forum, Hungary has been able to make the traditional Hungarian and Central Europe-Latin America bridge stronger and wider. As a leading country in Latin America, with traditional historical roots with Central Europe, Argentina celebrates, with joy, the spirit and the results of this initiative, and therefore, is committed to accompanying Hungary in the future on this promising intercontinental scale platform. We share with Hungary a common interest in the main issues of the World, confirmed by its prestigious involvement in topics like international security, human rights, international law and ecology affairs, among others, and its wide participation in the UN system. Moreover, as Mercosur founder member, next G-20 President, World Exhibition seat in 2022-2023, and

candidate for the OECD, Argentina is showing an increasingly successful performance as a global player. We are also deeply committed to reach, in the near future, a Mercosur-EU agreement, convinced that the liberalization of trade is a key to people’s development. President Mauricio Macri’s new foreign policy’s aim is to reintegrate Argentina to the world, mainly enhancing commerce and investments, which has been successful in the last two years, recovering the economy and the country’s international role. Argentina is now on a successful path of transition from the ‘world’s granary’ to a ‘world’s supermarket’, evolving from exporting raw food to that of elaborated products. Prospects for Argentina in 2018 are promising as important basic steps were completed. Argentina also shares with Hungary its own widening bilateral agenda, D E C E M B E R

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Thus, the bridges and motorways have been built to allow people to transit from one country to another either for business, tourism, education or innovative partnership in the scientific field as, for example, the Ojos del Salado expedition to the world's highest volcano, or the Chilean start-up program that has caught the attention of Hungarian youngsters, among others. Related to the above is the fact that in 2016, Hungary – and later the other V4 countries – were admitted as Observer States in the Pacific Alliance mechanism, integrated by the most stable and dynamic economies in our region, a sample of the potential that also exists in the sub-regional bilateral relations in a globalized world.

based on historically embedded traditional relations, a huge and influential Hungarian immigration, and a closely familiar idiosyncrasy. Moreover, there is a unique and promising coincidence of strategies between the Hungary’s ‘Opening to the south’ and Argentina’s new ‘Open to the world’ policy. Since Hungary is a key part of this policy in the heart of Europe, the new Argentine Government has implemented two main steps. First, the President gave an obviously clear sign designating me as an ambassador after four years of Argentina not having one in Budapest. Second, the upgrading of the Argentine Embassy and it’s moving from the Buda Hills, to a bigger, more representative and excellently located building over the Andrássy Avenue. Finally, the definite probe of the Argentine and Hungarian commitment within the spirit and aims of this Forum, has been the qualities of the Argentine delegates and their accomplishment of an ambitious agenda with auspicious talks centered around high technologies, business and cooperation opportunities.

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photos by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, COURTESY OF THE EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA

On the occasion of the 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum, held in Budapest this November, Diplomacy&Trade asked Latin American ambassadors to give an account of relations between their respective countries and Hungary, the East Central European region and the European Union.

2018, a delegation of Hungarian universities, companies and local government representatives were invited to visit our country. In the context of the 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, the Chilean delegation included representatives of local governments and Chilean companies mainly in the fields of wine and dry fruits, from one of the most successful regions, interested in concluding business with their Hungarian counterparts. The Forum has shown, from the beginning, the enormous potential of the relations between Hungary and Chile and importantly contributed to develop, through direct contact, the bilateral and regional relations.

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PROMOTING ECONOMIC DIALOGUE MEXICO IS DIVERSIFYING ITS RELATIONS WITH HUNGARY BY DAVID NÁJERA RIVAS, THE AMBASSADOR OF MEXICO

The 3rd Latin America – Hungary Forum has become an excellent opportunity to promote economic dialogue and trade connections between different actors and interlocutors. The Forum is a token of the Hungarian Government’s willingness to expand and diversify its commercial links at a time when Mexico also wants to do so. This coincidence presents business opportunities for both Mexican and Hungarian entrepreneurs and will help develop a market that takes advantage of the competitive edge of our economies and our business environment. The participation of a Mexican business delegation in this Forum is a sign of the interest Hungary has towards attracting business and investments. We must

Mexico is diversifying its relations and Hungary, a friendly country where we can see similarities and opportunities to expand the current relationship in political, economic, educational and technological matters. Recently, the delegations of the European Union (EU) and Mexico met in Brussels to celebrate the

fifth round of negotiations on political issues and cooperation in the framework of the modernization of the Global Agreement. These negotiations will result in a new agreement, which will replace the Agreement on Economic Partnership, Political Agreement and Cooperation – Global Agreement – signed in 1997 and entered into force in the year 2000. It is expected to conclude negotiations on the entire Agreement this year; however, a sixth round of negotiations will be held in Mexico City on November 29 and 30 to conclude the talks on the remaining issues. Updating the legal framework will strengthen the Strategic Partnership between Mexico and the EU, increase trade and investment flow for the benefit of all, strengthen political dialogue, increase cooperation and coordination on foreign policy, and work on security issues to respond in an orderly way to shared global challenges such as threats to security, migration, the fight against climate change, defending human rights and compliance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, among others.

beautiful Ecuadorian roses were exhibited during the Forum and a tasting of chocolates, banana chips and other products from Ecuador were offered. These products could be exported through Hungary to Central and Eastern Europe, considering that the Commercial Agreement between Ecuador and the

European Union is already in force. There is no doubt that the Hungarian government policy of ‘Opening to the South’ and the holding of this type of forum is of great importance for the strengthening of diplomatic and commercial relations between Hungary and the Latin American countries.

Grupo ALFA has joined the global value chain through the Hungarian automotive industry, generating jobs and distributing its products to important automotive companies. They have become a strategic partner for the government of Hungary and an emblematic company for Mexico, which we are very proud of because this successful incursion provides benefits for both countries. Finally, but not less importantly, the Forum has allowed us to broaden our knowledge of the opportunities that exist for Latin American companies, particularly Mexican companies, to enter the Hungarian market by promoting innovative sectors in which investment and the talent of human capitals are required.

Bi- and multilateral opportunities

highlight the work of the private sector in strengthening economic relations with Mexico and Latin America. The Forum Committee programmed a visit with two companies that are a reflection of this work: Prezi and Nemak.

Prezi is a cutting-edge company whose role in the Latin American market through Mexico has multiplied its number of Spanishspeaking users. On the other hand, Nemak, a company that belongs to the Mexican conglomerate

ECUADORIAN ROSES IN BUDAPEST

INTENSIFYING COOPERATION MECHANISMS BETWEEN ECUADOR

AND HUNGARY

photos by TIBOR ILLYÉS/MTI, COURTESY PICTURE

BY MARÍA DEL CARMEN GONZÁLEZ CABAL, THE AMBASSADOR OF ECUADOR

The Embassy of Ecuador in Hungary congratulates the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary for holding the 3rd Latin America – Hungary Forum in Budapest this November. Ecuador had a large delegation, which was chaired by the Minister of Telecommunications and the Information Society, Eng. Guillermo León Santacruz, who presented a speech at the opening session and referred to the relevance of ICT in Ecuador, the transfer of technological capabilities and bilateral cooperation. During the event, the Minister held a working meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó. This opportunity allowed for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Similarly, the Undersecretary of North America and Europe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador, Ambassador Carlos Játiva Naranjo held, on November 16th, a working meeting with the Secretary of State for the Opening to the South of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Ambassador Szilveszter Bus, in order to review the bilateral agenda, verify the progress of the cooperation mechanisms that have intensified in recent years and to prepare the next high-level meetings, as well as the reactivation of bilateral political consultations. It should be noted that within the framework of the 3rd Latin America – Hungary Forum, the Memorandum of Understanding of collaboration between the Drinking Water Company of Budapest and the D I P L O M A C Y

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Potable Water Company of the Metropolitan District of Quito was signed, as well. The Ecuadorian delegation also participated in the Trade Promotion Forum held at the Hungarian National Trading House on November 16, in which the Secretary of Productive Development and Competitiveness of the Municipality of Quito, Álvaro Maldonado, the Commercial Counselor of the Commercial Office of Ecuador in Hamburg, Rosa Nelly Castro and the Honorary Consul of Ecuador in Hungary, Dr. Iván Nyíri participated and presented the project portfolio of the Municipality, the commercial opportunities of Ecuador, the experiences of commercial exchange and the positioning of Ecuadorian products in Hungary and the continent. At the Hungarian Trading House,

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India ITEC Day The Embassy of India celebrated the day of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program (ITEC), a bilateral assistance program run by the Government of India. The event, attended by special guest Minister of State István Ijgyártó of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was opened by Indian Ambassador Rahul Chhabra.

Algeria National Day The Ambassador of Algeria to Hungary, Abdelkader Dehendi invited guests to the ballroom of the Budapest Marriott Hotel for the celebration of the 63rd anniversary of his country’s national day. The national day marks the birth of the ‘National Liberation Front’ in 1954.

Polish Independence Day

photos by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, COURTESY OF THE EMBASSY OF INDIA

On the occasion of his country’s independence day, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Jerzy Snopek welcomed guests for a jazz concert (performed by the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quintet) and reception at the Budapest Music Center. This day has been celebrated in Poland since 1920.

Turkish Republic Day Turkish Ambassador Şakir Fakili hosted a reception at the Hungarian National Gallery in celebration of the 94th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. The Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of its monarchy in 1922 and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Latin America Award Ceremony Hungarian students were awarded prizes by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the best essays written on the theme of Latin America. The ceremony, attended by the ambassadors of Latin American countries, was held on the eve of the 3rd Hungary – Latin America Forum in Budapest.

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society Angola Independence Day On the occasion of her country’s independence day, the Ambassador of the Republic of Angola, Lizeth Pena Nawanga Satumbo welcomed guests for a reception at the Corvinus Hotel Kempinski in Budapest. Following Portuguese colonial rule, Angola achieved its independence in 1975.

Belgium King’s Day The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Hungary, Marie-France Raymonde Adeline André invited guests to her residence to celebrate her country’s King’s Day with Belgian beer and other specialties. Since 1866, King’s Day has been celebrated on November 15 in honor of the Belgian monarch.

Horse Polo Exhibition The Ambassador of Argentina, Maximiliano Gregorio-Cernadas opened the photo vernissage on polo, a.k.a. ‘King of Sports, Sport of Kings’, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Budapest. The exhibition was initiated by Dr. Bálint Bassola, attorney-at-law. The opening cocktail and praline reception was attended by over 200 people from the business and diplomatic world.

Swiss Business Day Reception As the closing event of Swiss Business Day 2017, the Swiss Ambassador to Hungary, Peter Burkhard and the President of the SwissHungarian Chamber of Commerce, Dr. István Béres held a reception for the corporate participants of the day-long exhibition at the Castle Garden Bazaar in Budapest.

Latvia’s National Day photos by DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, TIBOR ILLYÉS/MTI, COURTESY PICTURES

On the 99th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, the country’s ambassador to Hungary, Vilmārs Heniņš welcomed guests for a reception in the Museum of Military History in the Buda Castle. It was on November 18, 1918 that the People's Council of Latvia proclaimed the independence of the new country from German and Russian occupation.

Diplomatic Fair Diplomatic Spouses of Budapest held their 7th Diplomatic Fair in the InterContinental Hotel in Budapest this November. The charity event, under the patronage of Anita Herczegh, wife of the Hungarian president, featured food and drinks from 20 countries as well as gift items from around the world. Proceeds from the sale of these go to supporting children’s foundations and hospitals.

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LE A K S

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

LÁNGOS, DANCE AND FLOWERS INDONESIAN AMBASSADOR RECOGNIZED AS ‘HONORARY HUNGARIAN’ BY AMBASSADOR WENING ESTHYPROBO OF INDONESIA

Since I hit Budapest, on a chilly afternoon more than two years ago, everybody greets me with ‘Her Excellency’. Still clear on my mind, when a week after my birthday, my Minister, Dr. Marty Natalegawa called me to his wooden room office and told me to prepare everything necessary because the President of the Republic of Indonesia had made his decision to assign me as the Indonesian Ambassador to Hungary. I could not believe my ears, however, the first thing my memory recalled was the deep fried dough, lángos. Oooh, I could taste the warmness of lángos again in my fingers like when I was in Vienna as a Third Secretary visiting the Christmas Market of the neighboring country, Hungary, on the coldest winter day.

Longing for lángos

From Award to Award Hungary redefines my personal best success since I was given, not only one but four awards within two years. First, the International Fair Play Committee recognized me for being

so keen to support the badminton club in Budapest. The second was an award from the Budapest Business School at the University of Applied Sciences for my continued support for the University to have a close cooperation in higher education with its partner in Indonesia. It was a sweet surprise when the President of the Békés County Assembly asked me to step up to the stage and receive an award in recognition of my effort and support for the sister relationship with an Indonesian province. Then, the most memorable award ceremony was at the Panorama World Club where its Chairman announced my name and I walked with excitement and pride from the aisle to the stage while 18 sentences were read mentioning why I deserve to get an Honorary Hungarian Award. These are awards I did not even dare to think of when I stepped off the airplane at Liszt Ferenc Airport back in 2015. Eighteen assertions were put forth, in the Hall of Stefánia Palota, on that sparkling evening, observations that as a foreign ambassador from the far East Asia I do love Hungary I dare to wear párta on my head to complete my outfit; I very often visit small towns and remote villages, sometimes during the weekends; I usually bring along my cultural troops to various high schools to let the Hungarian teenager students learn that somewhere in Southeast Asia there is a beautiful country, named Indonesia with the world’s biggest archipelago. These school visits were documented on YouTube to make the students more attracted to a dreamland called Indonesia. I opened Indonesian art and culture exhibitions from Ikervár in the west to Debrecen in the east and up north to Hollóháza as well as Szigetvár in the south and

further to Lake Balaton and its surrounding towns. On each visit, there was always a local journalist interviewing me and the next day my face was on their newspaper or on the local TV screen, these publications made me feel like I was almost famous celebrity.

Traditional Hungarian peasant life I visited porcelain factories in Herend, Pécs (the Zsolnay factory), Hollóháza and Kalocsa. I am amused to be surrounded by my collection of Hollóháza and Herend figurines. A dozen of them that I got from flea markets decorate my office while others are beautifully nesting inside the vitrine in my residence. The traditional folklore clothing tells me the story of the past, the Hungarian peasant life, how they treated their women, what the lives of the men was like on the plains when taking care of their herds. Visiting the Mezőkövesd folk museum made my image of Hungarian peasant life in the past stronger. I am deeply in love with their fine tradition and delicate handicrafts.

Born as an soulful artist My profession prohibits me for being a natural born artist, in contrast to the rhythm and movement frequently attracted my mind. However, my love for music and dance has brought me to learn Hungarian folkdance. Once a week, a dance teacher comes to my office to flex our muscles and step, jump and kick to the rhythm of a lovely Hungarian folk song. My male staff are very proud of wearing the white traditional shirt coupled with the black pants and beautiful hats, while the ladies’ cheeks are rosy with the párta (corolla) decorating their lovely heads. The dance lesson indeed makes D E C E M B E R

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everybody in the room happy and proud that as Indonesians we are able to dance a simple choreography of Hungarian folkdance. I enjoy concerts whether classic or contemporary, I was jumping and shouting during the one by Damian Marley, the youngest of Bob Marley’s sons, even the rain did not stop me from attending a joyful concert of ‘Gentleman’ in Budapest Park. I traveled to Lake Velence to join youngsters in rocking during the Sean Paul concert.

Flowers of the season My love for flowers drives me to enjoy the landscape in the countryside in each and every season. I explore Budapest to get the best view when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. I visited the magnificent oldest magnolia tree in town, it has managed to live for more than 130 years. A yellowish valley of sunflowers are the colors I see when I travel the countryside. Picking and cutting the lavender is a truly unreplaceable happiness for me. The poppies are the sign of the last flowers in August and they indicate that fall is coming around. However, the season cannot stop my lust and wonder as the city flower market fulfils my hunger of flowers. There I almost find everything from orchids to roses, from hortensia to curcuma – what a wonderful world! I experience the tremendous moments in Hungary that a sweet life could best offer. When the time comes for me to board for another journey in another country, my memory of Hungary will always have the brightest color, the happiest among the merriest moments of my life.

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photos by COURTESY OF THE EMBASSY OF INDONESIA

I still remember my driver’s surprise when I asked him to find me a good lángos one afternoon, during my first week in Budapest as Ambassador. Perhaps, it is not common for an Ambassador to look for a typically Hungarian simple, ordinary dish such as this deep fried dough. He tried but could not bring me the lángos that I dreamt about and staff members at the Embassy and had no satisfactorily solution, either. My lust for a soft, thick piece of lángos nowadays can be satisfied on a relaxing afternoon when strolling through the second floor of the Nagy Vásárcsarnok (Great Market Hall). Hungarian foods like lángos haltepertő (fish greaves), halaszle (fish soup) in Szeged, dödölle (potato dumpling) in Nagykanizsa, pisztráng (trout) in Miskolc, pulykanyak pörkölt (turkey neck stew) always decorate my dining table whenever I visit a restaurant which offers these kinds of delicacies. Since the turkey neck and oxtail are very similar in shape, I innovatively substitute the delicious famous Indonesian oxtail soup with the neck of turkey, the same favorite taste, yet, healthier of its less fat content. I am not a chocolate lover, so my dining usually ends with pistachio ice cream or the gesztenyepüré (chestnut puree). Trying to introduce the Hungarian tongue to Indonesian food, I introduce the delicious nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), bakwan jagung (corn fritters) and empal gepuk (spiced and fried beef) to catering schools here.

festive season GASTRONOMY IN SPECIAL ATMOSPHERE

GUNDEL OFFERS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON Christmas

During the past 120 years, Gundel Restaurant has become a symbol of quality, elegance and unique cuisine. We combine a harmony of traditions and renewal with professional experience of providing outstanding catering service and unforgettable memories to our guests. We decorate the premises, compose the menu and arrange a special atmosphere – be it a banquet with hundreds of participants or a small family event, your guests will enjoy the world famous Gundel cuisine, professional service and traditionally warm hospitality. The prestigious Gundel Events turns weekdays into feasts and feasts into unforgettable memories, either in the banquet rooms of the Gundel Palace or at an outside location of your choice. We offer the prestigious ballroom of the Gundel Palace for free to your Christmas event – this is our Christmas gift to you. Gundel’s Executive Chef awaits you with a careful selection of classic Hungarian dishes and special Christmas menus at lunch and dinner time. Wonderful atmosphere, decoration and live music guarantee an unforgettable time for you and your guests in the Gundel Restaurant.

DATE: DECEMBER 25-30 TO VIEW ALL AVAILABLE OFFERS, PLEASE, VISIT OUR WEBSITE:

www.gundel.hu For booking and payment options, please, contact us at: TEL.: +36 1 889 8115 • E-MAIL: bankett@gundel.hu

New Year’s Eve

SAY FAREWELL TO YESTERYEAR IN STYLE!

New Year

This magical evening will commence at 7 p.m. with a Gundel cocktail and progress with a gala dinner, followed by a bustling live show. Thereafter, a champagne toast and dancing at midnight will bid farewell to yesteryear and welcome the new year.

The first days of the New Year may determine the whole year – as the saying goes. We wish our guests a Happy New Year rich in culinary experience. Say hello to 2017 with your loved ones in the Gundel Restaurant and enjoy the two special lunch menus and a dinner menu created by our Executive Chef for the first two weeks of January.

GASTRONOMY

DATE: JANUARY 1 – 15

The visionary behind the six-course gala dinner is Gundel Restaurant’s executive chef, Gábor Merczi, who will showcase the noblest of ingredients during the evening. The dinner compositions will be crowned by a wine selection chosen by by Mihály Fabók, the everlasting Hungarian champion sommelier. During the dinner, enjoy the Gundel Orchestra led by the worldrenowned violinist Gyula Horváth, their performance will feature famous film music, musical melodies and classical gypsy music.

TO VIEW AVAILABLE OFFERS, PLEASE, VISIT OUR WEBSITE:

www.gundel.hu For booking and payment options, please, contact us at: TEL: +36 1 889 8111 • E-MAIL: info@gundel.hu

PERFORMANCES Known as the Hungarian Michael Bublé, Bálint Gájer’s special music and dance show entertains the audience with classic and modern hits. Soma Hajnóczy, the owner of the Magic World Champion title, has performed in over 40 countries and 4 continents. For this evening, he prepares a special show, which will guide you through the world of magic. The sensual dance show by the Buda Tango Dance Duo provides an insight into South American dance culture. Afterwards, The Cool Miners, one of the most professional party bands in Hungary, will certainly liven up the atmosphere of the evening.

PRICES AND THE BOOKING CONDITIONS The price of the Program and Gala dinner is HUF 65,000 per person (including VAT, service charge). Family-and-friends discount Invite your family and friends around the table of 10 and the dinner and program ticket of the 10th person is free.

For booking and payment options, please, contact us at: TEL: +36 1 889 8116 • E-MAIL: bankett@gundel.hu

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FELIX LAJKO

JANUARY 4, 2018 MUSIC ACADEMY, BUDAPEST If there is unlimited music, it can be heard at Félix Lajkó's concert. The violin artist gives an insight into a personal, inner world that is clearly his own. Audiences encounter unparalleled virtuosity, banal music themes, unexpectedly sparkling whistles, lucky melodies and some well-known melodies of everlasting times. Félix Lajkó views the game of playing the violin as an unfinished experiment, which can never be perfect, never to be finite. His concert is sure to be an extraordinary and unrepeatable experience for the audience of the Academy of Music. A magical way to start the News Year. www.lajkofelix.hu/en

RONAN KEATING

DECEMBER 11, 2017 LÁSZLÓ PAPP BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA The Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating will appear as the guest star in Balázs Havasi's concert where he will perform his biggest hits with the accompaniment of the Havasi Symphonic. Ronan Keating exploded into the international music scene at age 16, as a member of Boyzone. His solo career was launched with a soundtrack song for the movie ‘Notting Hill’. His hit ‘When You Say Nothing at All’ topped the charts world-wide. He released nine single albums, of which more than 20 million copies were sold. It is a characteristic of his talent that he had 30 songs on the UK's top 10 hit list one after the other. With that, he broke Elvis Presley’s record and was included in the Guinness Book of Records. www.budapestarena.hu/programs

ADVENT FESTIVAL AT THE BASILICA

THROUGHOUT DECEMBER, ST. STEPHEN’S SQUARE IN BUDAPEST Dreams come true at the Advent Festival, recognized as the 9th most beautiful Christmas market in Europe. Until New Year’s Day, Budapest's downtown Saint Stephen's Square is turned into a festive meeting point full of excitement, including epic 3D light painting of the Basilica. The magical wonderland of the market evokes the sights, the sounds and the community spirit of Christmas. adventiunnep.hu/en

HARLEM GOSPEL CHOIR

photos by HAVASI.EU, RÓBERT BÁCSI, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, HARLEM GOSPEL CHOIR

DECEMBER 9-10, 2017 BUDAPEST CONGRESS CENTER Beyonce's most popular songs will enrich the festive season in Budapest this year when the unquenchable queen of jazz and gospel, Esther Marrow and her famous Harlem Gospel Choir from New York City visit Hungary again. New York's afro communities can be proud of their cultural heritage and their contribution to church music of America. Their music has had an effect on the music of the whole world from the beginning of the twentieth century: its original roots have fed pop, blues and jazz and a whole line of modern music genres. Hungarian audiences have the opportunity to experience the wonderful atmosphere of the churches of Harlem, year after year. The ambassadors of African-American music perform several times in three days in Budapest in mid-December, in the midst of Christmas preparations. www.bcc.hu/events

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THE SOUND OF DIGNITY - BOBAN MARKOVIC ORKESTAR

JANUARY 4, 2018 PALACE OF ARTS (MÜPA), BUDAPEST The Boban Marković Orchestra, which has won numerous musical awards and collaborated on many of Emil Kusturica's films, is a true multicultural delight. After several explosively successful guest appearances in Hungary, the Orchestra will now perform at a charity gala to benefit the Hungarian Hospice Foundation. Through the concert, the foundation welcomes the New Year, as well as its partners, supporters, friends and all those who share its belief in a life of dignity. True to its traditions, the charity event once again offers guests a special production: along with Hungarian artists, the Boban Marković Orchestra will provide an unforgettable evening. Since 1991, the foundation has cared for patients with incurable conditions, supporting their families and striving to make it accepted and natural for society to open its heart to fellow human beings. www.mupa.hu/en/program

CARO EMERALD

FEBRUARY 26, 2018 LÁSZLÓ PAPP BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA The 36-year-old singer was born Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw. In 2005, she graduated as a jazz singer at the Amsterdam Conservatory. She is well-known for her performance style that fires up her audience within minutes. Her story began in 2007 when she was offered the opportunity to make a demo recording of her song ‘Back It Up’. When a year later, she performed the song on a local Dutch TV show, viewers flooded the channel with emails and phone calls: everyone wanted to know whose voice they’d heard. After participating at three Hungarian festivals, Caro Emerald will have her first solo concert in February 2018 at the Budapest Arena! Please, note that only seat tickets can be purchased due to the theater-like arrangement of the auditorium! www.livenation.hu/artist/caro-emerald-tickets

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS

MARCH 11, 2018 LÁSZLÓ PAPP BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA Grammy Award-winning Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias returns to Hungary after eighteen years. The singer promises an unforgettable concert to the Hungarian audience next March, when he sings all his old and new hits. We will hear songs such as Bailamos, Hero, Duele El Corazón, Loco, Heart Attack, Bailando and Subeme La Radio. During his twenty-year career, Enrique Iglesias has sold nearly a hundred million records worldwide. Referred to as the Prince of Latin Music, he has won more than five hundred awards during his career. In two consecutive years, 2016 and 2017, he received five awards at the Latin American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year award. Budapest is one of the venues on Enrique Iglesias's 2018 world tour and organizers are confident that the concert in Budapest will be an unforgettable experience for the Hungarian audience. www.budapestarena.hu/programs

HAPPY NEW YEAR, VIRTUOSOS!

photos by MÜPA, CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTESRS, COURTESY PICTURE, VIRTUOSOS

JANUARY 1, 2018 MUSIC ACADEMY, BUDAPEST It is now a tradition that the artists of the world's first classical talent show (‘Virtuosos’) fill the great hall of the Academy of Music with music, to greet the New Year. The first day of 2018, it will be the third time these talents have performed their music on such an occasion. As a special treat, this year young hopefuls of the countries of the Visegrád Group also introduce themselves to the Hungarian audience. The concert is broadcast every year in more and more countries by national television stations. The message of the 2018 concert is that music is independent of national borders and languages. The soloists are accompanied by the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. www.virtuosos.com

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wine

‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE SWEETER… LATE HARVEST WINES ARE THE NEWEST TREND

In Hungary, the traditional accompaniment to a festive winter meal is a sweet wine, which could be an aszú or szamorodni, or a late harvest or an ice wine. These are all made in different ways, but what they have in common is their natural sweetness and if produced properly, they are highly concentrated, fruity, fragrant and rich.

The world stops for a moment every year on the third Thursday in November when Beaujolais Nouveau hits the shelves in shops and restaurants. The heralded fashion for new wine began in the 1950s in France with fireworks, gastronomic programs and festivals and has continued unbroken ever since. More recently, it has become fashionable for most of the world’s wine regions to follow suit and to launch their trendy fresh wines. Today in Hungary, the new wines’ premiere is linked to Saint Martin’s day. In Hungary, the Bock Winery in Villány introduced the fashion for bottled new wine just twenty years ago, in 1997. Since wine produced from the wine region’s characteristic variety, Portugieser emerged from the cellar at the beginning of November, around St Martin’s day, József Bock called it Saint Martin’s wine. At that time, nobody else was making anything similar in Hungary, so the light, fresh wine, reminiscent of Beaujolais Nouveau, exploded

into the public consciousness and restaurants were begging for it. Nowadays, they produce about 10,000 bottles of it, nearly a fifth of which is consumed at the winery on the St Martin’s day goose and new wine celebration. The two-day celebration will be held at the winery again this year on November10-11, when they will show the 2017 St Martin’s day wine for the first time – the Portugieser and the Portugieser rosé. “Villány’s speciality is the soft, velvety, easydrinking Portugieser, produced from the Oportó variety. This is the first new red wine which can be marketed in Hungary thanks to its early harvest, usually in the first few days of September,” says Béla Jekl, Villány winemaker and chairman of the Pannon Wine Guild which consists of around forty prestigious Hungarian family wineries. “Essentially, Villány Portugieser can already be drunk from the beginning to mid-October and it is debuted every year on the new wine consecration day, St Martin’s day. New wine has always been a tradition in Villány, and

this will continue to be the case in the future, too. I like it, it’s a style that’s capable of quenching your thirst. Whereas in terms of gastronomy, it goes extremely well with Italian pizza and pasta. This year’s vintage has turned out very well for us; at the end of October, the Jekl Winery bottled beautifully colored, soft, velvety Portugieser.” Since the new wine is expected to be characteristically light, fresh and fruity, many winemakers do not market a red wine first, rather a rosé en primeur. Its potential was first recognized in Beaujolais; a Beaujolais Nouveau Rosé was shown in Japan in 2006 and has since captivated many markets around the world. The style also crops up in various places in Hungary. According to Béla Jekl, one of the greatest successes of the last twenty years has been rosé as new wine. “This is a fresh category, rosé can usually be bottled 1-1.5 months after the harvest. After that, it’s on the shelves for a year and it usually runs out during that time, and then everyone is ready for the next vintage.

At the same time, not only rosé but also light white wines, mainly Muscat and aromatic varieties, have come into fashion, for example Csabagyöngye, Irsai Olivér and Cserszegi Fűszeres. These early-ripening varieties, produced using reductive technology that make wines ready for immediate consumption, are bottled at the end of September. This is good for consumers who want to taste the wine of the new vintage as soon as possible. It’s also good for winemakers, as commercially it represents a category bringing rapid financial rewards,” adds the chairman of the Pannon Wine Guild. Which grape variety can be used to make a new wine in a given vintage is of course also affected by the weather. Szászi Winery, which farms organically in the Badacsony and Balaton Highlands wine regions has, for example, produced a variety of new wines thanks to the hot summer and the early harvest. “We are able to produce Muscat Ottonel, Cserszegi Fűszeres, Pinot Noir rosé, Zenit and also a light, fruity Pinot Gris as new wines in the 2017 vintage,” says Endre Szászi, owner of the winery. The good thing about this style is that the fresh wines are already harmonious after just one or two months, whereas other types of wines require eight months or even a year. If the weather is favorable, we intend to market a certain proportion of the grapes we grow each year as new wine.” For some years now, it has been a tradition for the Szászi family to organize a new wine tasting along with a goose dinner at the winery on November 11, St Martin’s day. This new wine tasting event, which concludes the harvest, also helps the winemaker predict what the vintage will look like. Endre Szászi is already optimistic: “Both the quantity and quality of this year’s harvest is good,” he says, “if you can expect 100% from your land, it has happened this year, it couldn’t be better. What makes the vintage interesting is the very early harvest, as we had already started with the first varieties – Cserszegi Fűszeres, Zenit and Muscat Ottonel – just after August 10. We haven’t harvested so early for a very long time, so we are particularly curious to see how our longer-maturing wines, such as Olaszrizling, Kéknyelű and Rózsakő will behave. We’ll only get an answer to this in spring.

NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA DINNER IN THE GRAND BALLROOM

NEW YEAR’S EVE NIGHT

HUF 64 000 | EUR 205 per person Unlimited house wine, beer, soft drinks and hot beverages are included. 6% service charge will be added to the bill.

„La Perle Noire Restaurant & Lounge Happy New Year’s Eve Night” on Andrássy Avenue, where beauty and culture meets. Enjoy French and Hungarian 8-course set menu (amouse bouche+5 course+petit four), Welcome champagne (1 glass per person) and the live music of La Perle Noire Band.

Corinthia Hotel Budapest 1073 Budapest, Erzsébet körút 43-49 +36 70 699 3086 festive.budapest@corinthia.com www.corinthia.com/budapest

D E C E M B E R

Open time: 6 p.m. | EUR 80 per person 1063 Budapest, Andrássy Avenue 111 • +36 1 462 2189 info@laperlenoire.hu

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photos by WINEAMORE/PIROSKA KOLTAI

Join us for a unique around-the-world adventure with exciting programs, games, a superb 5-course gala dinner and a sumptuous midnight buffet. (Only adults can attend. Children above the age of 12 are considered adults.)

gastronomy

12 STRANGE CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD… A LOOK AT THE LESSER-KNOWN TRADITIONS CIRCLING THE GLOBE Christmas is a worldwide phenomenon that is here to stay, regardless of how we choose to celebrate it. With the rapid technological advancements of the last century, many local traditions have now become international customs, with no one knowing exactly where they originated. Since the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, a wide variety of Christmas practices, beliefs, superstitions and customs have emerged and developed as the Christian celebration spread throughout the world. Some festive traditions – like the character of ‘Santa Claus’, for example – have historical origins or are based on folklore. The old man in the red suit was originally derived from the story of the three wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus and, afterwards, from the legend of the beloved Saint Nicholas who used his whole inheritance to bestow gifts upon the local children and assist the poor, sick and suffering. Other customs however, are a bit more unusual. The following is a list of some odd and even bizarre Christmas traditions from around the world. GREAT BRITAIN During the preparation of the Christmas Pudding, every member of the family (especially the kids) must stir the mix in a clockwise direction, while making a wish. Earlier traditions include putting a coin in the mix which brings wealth to whoever finds it in their serving. Other additives include a ring for luck in marriage and a thimble for good luck in life.

photos by SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, PIXABAY.COM, FLAGSTAFFOTOS.COM.AU/WIKIPEDIA, KIMBERLEY HASSELBRINK

NORWAY

Believing that the festive period coincides with the arrival of evil spirits, Norwegians safely hide away all of the brooms in their house on Christmas Eve before they go to sleep to stop witches from stealing them. CZECH REPUBLIC During the Christmas festivities, unmarried Czech women stand by a door and throw a shoe over their shoulder. They believe that if the toe is pointing towards the door when it lands, they will get married within the next year.

VENEZUELA In the capital of Caracas, it is customary to travel to early-morning Christmas mass on roller skates. Roads are even closed off to cars deliberately to provide Christmas worshippers a safe passage.

SLOVAKIA During a traditional Slovakian Christmas dinner, the most senior male member of the family takes a spoonful of loksa pudding and throws it at the ceiling. Apparently, the more that sticks the better.

5. USA

now market as ‘the world’s naughtiest bar crawl’. Each event sees scores of people all across the United States dressed as Santa running from bar to bar in a bid to consume as much alcohol as possible. Trust the Yanks to come up with something like this! ESTONIA Many Estonian families use the twoday sacred holiday of Christmas Eve and Christmas Night for the exclusive purpose of fortune-telling and receiving the spirits of their ancestors. As part of this, many families will head for the sauna together to cleanse their bodies and minds to help them become more receptive to their spiritual surroundings.

7. INDIA

The very small population of Christians here celebrate Christmas with midnight mass and gift-giving like the rest of the world, but with the absence of fir trees or pine trees to decorate, they have to make do with other more tropical varieties so you’ll find brightly lit, well-decorated Christmas banana or mango trees on the streets. JAPAN

In Japan, Christmas is not a holiday, yet the population has been sucked in by commercial marketing to celebrate the arrival of Santa Kuroshu. The Japanese celebrate Christmas Eve by eating a 'Christmas Cake', which the father of the family purchases

6. FROM THE CABBAGE PATCH… Modern-day Americans have created a boozy Christmas tradition called ‘The Running Of The Santas’, which they

on his way home from work and in recent years, thanks to KFC, the Chicken Dinner has become synonymous with Christmas. FINLAND

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Families in Finland usually visit the graves of their ancestors and relatives on Christmas Eve to light candles in memory of the deceased. Food is left out on tables and family members leave their beds to sleep on the floor to give the dead a nice meal and a place to rest when they visit. GUATEMALA Guatemalans sweep out their houses before Christmas. Each neighborhood will then create a pile of dirt and then proceed to put an effigy of the devil on top and burn it.

11. CANADA

12.

Where do you send your letters to Santa? The North Pole? Santa’s workshop? Actually, Santa has his own postal code in Canada, H0H 0H0 (with zeros instead of the letter ‘o’) because in Canada, postal codes are alphanumeric. Letters – the kind that bypass parents – used to end up undelivered because there was no centralized address for the big guy in red. But for the past 30 years, Canada Post volunteers (in the thousands) have been helping Santa reply to a million letters every year from children around the world in different languages, including Braille.

THE HUMBLE VEGETABLE THAT PACKS PLENTY OF PUNCH! Cabbage is like a great purse – there’s a look, size and color to suit every taste. Healthy, inexpensive and a chameleon in the kitchen, this unsung hero is local and available all year round. It is for sure one of the most economical vegetables out there, but it can also be one of the most versatile in your arsenal. Just think of the hundreds of variations on coleslaw and cabbage salad, then there are Indian-inspired curries, Central European stuffed versions and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. If its amazing versatility and low cost aren’t enough to get you jumping on the cabbage bandwagon, its innumerable health benefits are. Belonging to the cruciferous family of vegetables makes it a close relative of broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, and like all of its crunchy cousins, cabbage is an excellent source of Vitamin C, as well as a rich source of potassium, iron, magnesium, folate, dietary fiber and Vitamins A, B6 and K. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Researchers have now identified nearly 20 different flavonoids and 15 different phenols in cabbage, all of which have demonstrated antioxidant activity. This impressive list of antioxidant phytonutrients in cabbage is one key reason why an increasing number of studies link cabbage intake to decreased risk of several cardiovascular diseases. The anthocyanins found in red cabbage are well-documented anti-inflammatory compounds and make red cabbage a standout anti-inflammatory food for

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this reason. However, all types of cabbage contain significant amounts of polyphenols that provide anti-inflammatory benefits. People who regularly consume large amounts of cabbage enjoy a lower rate of colon cancer and women whose diets include plenty of cabbage and other cruciferous veggies have reduced incidences of breast cancer. While cooking cabbage, it is advisable not to use utensils or cookware made of aluminum as they might cause a chemical reaction that discolors the vegetables and might even alter the flavor. Storing tips: wrapped tightly in plastic, a head of cabbage will keep for up to two weeks in the crisper and to keep it fresh, don’t cut it until just before using it and once cut, use within 2-3 days. In order to reap the benefits of cabbage to its full extent and preserve the nutrients, the preferred cooking methods include steaming, sautéing and stir-frying. Of course, the absolute best way to eat cabbage is raw. So, dig out that slicer and start experimenting with the myriad of cabbage salads recipes that abound.

CABBAGE AND KOHLRABI SALAD WITH MAPLE LEMON DRESSING SERVES 6 TO 8 4 medium bulbs kohlrabi, 3 cups shredded green cabbage 1/4 cup dried cherries, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, zest of 1 lemon juice of 2 lemons, 1 garlic clove, minced, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Using a sharp knife, remove the long stems and greens from the kohlrabi. Using a peeler, trim away the thick green skin until you reach the light green to white part that is free of tough fibers. Shred on the medium holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredder disk. Combine the kohlrabi, cabbage, cherries, sunflower seeds, and dill in a large serving bowl. In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Shake to thoroughly combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat well. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving. Recipe reprinted with permission.