FAREWELL/ELKÖSZÖNÉS - with the effect of 31 July 🤝🙏
Dear Friends, as we say in Hungary, “in lieu of any other announcements,” this time I’d like to share a longer and more personal message than usual. Last week, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Hungarian law on diplomatic missions and long-term foreign service, I initiated the termination of my foreign service appointment, which is set to expire in 2027, effective July 31, 2026, the date on which my term as (bilateral) Ambassador in Brussels will come to an end.
Representing my country at this important post as Ambassador accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their supportive cooperation during my tenure as Head of Mission!
An incredible amount has happened since September 2018; and I had the opportunity to lead our Embassy during perhaps one of the busiest and most exciting periods in our bilateral relations with our two host countries, traveling throughout all of Belgium’s provinces — from the smallest towns to the largest cities — and spending an average of 2–3 days a month in Luxembourg on diplomatic duties.
In 2022–2023, we celebrated the Hungarian-Belgian and in 2024, our Hungarian-Luxembourg diplomatic centenary with a series of high-level events, along with our commemorative publications, postal stamps, memorial plaques, and historical books, further strengthening the close ties between our countries.
The Belgian and Hungarian EU presidencies also took place in 2024, during which our Embassy organized a record number and caliber of diplomatic events in both host countries. During our Visegrád (V4) presidencies, we held the highest number of events across the entire Hungarian foreign service network; during the COVID crisis, we repatriated dozens of Hungarian citizens with the assistance of our Embassy via Belgium from distant countries such as Colombia, Mali, Burundi, and Afghanistan, and worked around the clock to utilize Belgian and Luxembourgish epidemiological expertise in Hungary. In connection with Russia’s aggression and war against Ukraine, we participated in humanitarian aid efforts for Hungarians in Transcarpathia through several fundraising campaigns & collection of goods; we expressed our solidarity with Ukraine within the V4 framework; and we participated in and organized several Hungarian-Ukrainian cultural programs (Polyphony Project, Vyshyvanka exhibition, etc.) with the aim of highlighting the bridge-building role of the Hungarian community in Ukraine and the Ukrainian community in Hungary.
During my tenure, we opened our Embassy’s permanent representative Office in Luxembourg in 2019 (which, since 2022, has been welcoming its diplomatic partners and consular clients in a separate, larger, and higher-quality location, also in the city center), during which time, while maintaining continuous operations and client service, we expanded the capacity and fully modernized our Consulate in Brussels, expanded and renovated our Liszt Cultural Institute, and purchased the prestigious flagship House of Hungary (Loi/Wet 9) for ‘par excellence’ diplomatic representation in the Diplomatic Capital of Europe (and of the World), located in the immediate vicinity of the Belgian Royal Palace, the Federal Parliament, and the Prime Minister’s Office, and its “commissioning” for the Hungarian EU Presidency, which, together with the Ambassador’s Residence, we opened to the interested public in general on numerous occasions alongside the diplomatic work taking place there.
In addition to the built heritage, the time spent with the incredibly diverse and appreciated diaspora — the Hungarian communities in Belgium and Luxembourg, numbering some 20,000 to 25,000 people — remains an enduring memory, as do the countless shared celebrations, citizenship oaths, Catholic masses, Protestant services, (Jewish community) Shabbats, and hundreds of secular events, as well as the peaceful and good-natured, always well-attended elections of 2019, 2022, 2024, and 2026. Just as with the emotionally moving commemorations — from the grave of Governor Lajos Kossuth’s mother in Brussels to the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Congress Column, held as an unbroken tradition since 1957 — recalling 15 March 1848, and in remembrance of 23 October 1956 respectively, alongside the always well-attended and inspiring Embassy receptions and the Embassy’s work in support of Hungarian communities and our own events (Teachers’ Appreciation Day, Day of National Unity, etc.).
Over the course of nearly eight years, representing virtually every conceivable genre, more than a thousand cultural events took place at our Liszt Cultural Institute, the Embassy, the Residence, our Luxembourg Office, and numerous external venues, ranging from BOZAR in Brussels to De Singel in Antwerp and the Concertgebouw in Bruges, all the way to the Luxembourg Philharmonic.
This list of achievements would not be complete without mentioning our contribution to our extremely close and strong economic ties, which are underpinned by the annual trade in goods between Hungary and Belgium amounting to approximately 7 billion euros. Depending on the economic indicator considered, Belgium ranks as Hungary’s 12th to 14th most important partner in the world, and from Belgium’s perspective, Hungary ranks among its top 25 to 30 economic partners.
Hundreds of Belgian companies provide jobs for thousands of Hungarians in Hungary, among which KBC Bank and Insurance Company stands out as the 100% owner of Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank (K&H); the largest foreign-owned — and third-largest — financial institution in Hungary, but the list of important Belgian and Luxembourgish companies in Hungary could be recounted for a long time, including Resilux, Atenor, GSK Biologicals, Versele-Laga, Tungsram-Schréder, CargoLux, and Guardian Glass, in addition to hundreds of SMEs.
A prominent Hungarian company in the Belgian and Luxembourg markets is our pharmaceutical giant Richter Gedeon, which is the market leader here in several product groups. In addition, over the past few years, our Embassy’s foreign trade & commercial department has assisted hundreds of Hungarian companies by providing information and helping them find Belgian or Luxembourgish partners, in addition to hosting numerous annual Hungarian business delegations and organizing independent Embassy business events (in diverse domains including medical technology, the drone sector, defense & space industry, tourism, “fintech,” etc.).
I am also very proud of the relationships I have built across electoral cycles with the Presidents (Speakers) of the Belgian and Luxembourg Parliaments, successive Prime Ministers (in Belgium, particularly with Alexander De Croo and Bart De Wever, following Charles Michel and Sophie Wilmès, and in Luxembourg with Xavier Bettel and Luc Frieden), the Foreign Ministers of both countries, as well as the leaders of Flanders, Wallonia, Ostbelgien (German-speaking Community of Belgium), and Luxembourg, and for organizing their visits to Hungary and the reception of Hungarian leaders in Belgium and Luxembourg.
It was also a great pleasure to work closely with our EU and NATO allies and with the Ambassadors of numerous partner countries (with more than 180 embassies and a total of over 300 diplomatic missions in Brussels) and with nearly all senior officials at the Belgian and Luxembourgish foreign ministries. I would like to express my special gratitude to my Belgian Ambassador colleagues in Budapest, Marie-France André, Siegfried Peinen, and the current Ambassador, Jeroen Vergeylen, as well as to our Honorary Consuls, Jean Ries (Luxembourg), René Branders (Wallonia), and Ari Epstein (Flanders).
I would like to thank my colleagues at the Embassy, the Heads of Mission and staffs of our partner missions in Brussels (our Permanent Representations to the EU and NATO) and our Hungarian missions in neighboring countries, as well as our colleagues in the Hungarian ministries, for their cooperation, collegiality, and friendship; and I would like to especially thank my family, Edit, Áron, and Dani for their love and support! Both of our sons grew up and came of age in this city; and in July, we hope they will demonstrate this by successfully passing their high school graduation exams at the Hungarian section of the European School. For family and professional reasons, we will continue to live here in Belgium — a country often described as “surreal” but which we have come to love dearly — in Brussels, where we will continue to be members of our strong local Hungarian community!
Nearly eight years ago, in preparation for important milestones in Hungarian-Belgian-Luxembourg relations, I accepted this Mission’s leadership role with great joy, returning to Hungarian public service after years as a European civil servant. I am proud that my commitment to representing our country and the level of effort required for this have not diminished in the slightest over the years and will continue until the very last day of my foreign service. This period has been extremely enriching for me, both professionally and personally; during this time, I have gained a wealth of valuable experience and had the opportunity to work alongside outstanding colleagues toward our shared goals.
I am convinced that in such positions of responsibility, it is important to have the opportunity for renewal from time to time — not only for the individual, but also for the development of the institution and the work of the Mission. A fresh perspective and new momentum can create value at the Embassy, and for me, moving on is an opportunity to identify new challenges and continue my professional journey elsewhere.
I am grateful for all the trust and support I have received over the past years, and I am proud of everything we have achieved together with my highly qualified colleagues, who possess an exemplary work ethic and will ensure the continuity of the Embassy’s work, thereby facilitating the task of my successor, who will take over an extremely stable diplomatic mission in excellent condition — both in terms of its physical infrastructure and its human and local (Belgian and Luxembourgish) reputation. Of course, even after my term as Head of Mission has ended, I will continue to follow the work of the Hungarian Embassy in Brussels with supportive interest, and I wish my colleagues and successors every success in achieving further results in the years to come.
dr. Kovács Tamás Iván
Magyarország belgiumi és luxemburgi nagykövete
https://brusszel.mfa.gov.hu/
