Extensive military operations took place in the Middle East early morning on Saturday, the Hungarian foreign minister said, asking Hungarians in the wake of the attack against Iran not travel to the region.
None of the staff members at Hungary’s embassy in Tehran have been injured, they are all well, Péter Szijjártósaid on Facebook.
There are 30 Hungarian citizens staying in Iran, 12 of whom have registered for consular protection, he said, and advised anybody who gets in trouble to immediately contact either the embassy of the emergency consular service.
Read also:
ECtHR ruling: Hungary unlawfully detained, mistreated Iranian Christian, must pay compensation – read more HERE
Hungary has successfully concluded an evacuation operation with the help of its Slovak friends, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Saturday afternoon, adding that the details are being disclosed only now as that is the general rule for security reasons.
In a post on Facebook, Péter Szijjártó noted that the plane Slovakia dispatched to Lebanon as part of the operation left that country’s air space with nine Hungarian citizens and a Lebanese family member on board in the morning hours on Saturday.
“The plane landed first in Cyprus and in these moments is in Bratislava, so all of them are now safe,” he said, noting that in an operation earlier, at the beginning of August, several Hungarians wanting to leave Lebanon had been taken home with a plane of the Hungarian armed forces.
“With a view to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, this time we again offered our help to all Hungarians staying in Lebanon, ten of whom registered themselves, so we and our Slovak friends have agreed that they would ensure seats to the Hungarians on their plane,” the foreign minister said.
“Such a cooperation is not unprecedented since we, whenever possible, always offer seats on our evacuation flights to neighbouring countries and EU member states who generally use the possibility,” he said.
Szijjártó said in the recent operation the evacuation of the Hungarians carried out by Slovakia had been coordinated by Hungary’s diplomatic mission in Beirut. Hungary’s consuls were there in Larnaca and Bratislava to meet them and provide them every assistance, he said.
Pointing out the risk of the situation’s escalation in the Middle East, the foreign minister asked Hungarian citizens to avoid travelling to the region.
Further Hungarian citizens will be evacuated from Lebanon with a Slovak plane, in line with an agreement between the two countries, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Budapest on Friday.
Szijjártósaid the number of Hungarians in Lebanon was in the hundreds, with 233 “in the embassy’s field of vision”. Most of them live in Lebanon, and 22 have registered for consular protection, as citizens staying in Lebanon for a shorter time, for holidays, work or other reasons, Szijjártó said.
Hungary already evacuated 18 Hungarians, 7 minors among them, early in August, he said.
This time, ten people said they needed help in getting home, he added. They will come home with a Slovak plane. In similar situations, Hungary has also offered help to other European countries, he said.
Photo: FB/Szijjártó
The concrete time of the flight will be communicated to the evacuees privately for security reasons, Szijjártó said. The plane will land in Bratislava, he added.
“I would like to ask every Hungarian citizen to avoid the region when travelling… If they find themselves in trouble in Lebanon, please contact the consulate’s emergency number or the embassy,” Szijjártó said.
Read also:
ECtHR ruling: Hungary unlawfully detained, mistreated Iranian Christian, must pay compensation – read more HERE
Foreign ministry calls on Hungarians to leave Lebanon – details in THISarticle
The Hungarian state violated Iranian Christian A.P.’s human rights when it unlawfully detained him for more than a year and even starved him in the Röszke transit zone, ruled the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) today. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s client will receive a fair compensation of 5,000 euros.
“Although the transit zones were dismantled in May 2020, the ECtHR is still investigating numerous complaints of people unlawfully detained in Hungary’s Röszke and Tompa transit zones. Today’s judgment is just about one case of the countless,” the Hungarian Helsinki Committee wrote in a statement.
A.P. entered Hungary legally in September 2018 at the transit zone in Röszke. He applied for asylum, which the Hungarian authorities routinely rejected without any substantive examination, claiming that Serbia was a safe country for asylum purposes, so he was not entitled to protection in Hungary.
This assertion was so far from reality that neither the UNHCR nor most EU member states consider Serbia a safe country for refugees (either then or now). After all, in 2020, the domestic authorities finally started to examine the Iranian man’s asylum application in a fair procedure, and they granted him refugee status. But he had a lot to go through before then.
Illustration. Photo: FB/Máté Kocsis
Persecuted for his Christian religion at home
After being persecuted for his Christian religion at home, the man was detained in the transit zone for 379 days – during which he had to spend half a year under incredibly harsh conditions in the alien policing sector. He was not allowed to meet anyone, not even the UN staff, and he had no idea how long he would be detained. He committed no offence; he just asked the Hungarian state for protection as a persecuted person. The authorities even starved him, then gave him food after three days only because the ECtHR ordered them upon the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s interim measure request.
A.P. filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. After five and a half years, the court delivered its judgment today and found the detention unlawful. Moreover, it also emphasised that the domestic legal system did not provide any effective remedy for people deprived of their freedom indefinitely and that they could not appeal against their detention in court. As it has done so several times before, the ECtHR found that “the domestic law did not provide the applicant with the possibility to contest the lawfulness and length of his detention” either.
Iranian Christian unlawfully detained gets compensation
“This is the 105th case that the Hungarian Helsinki Committee has won in Strasbourg and the eighteenth in which the European Court of Human Rights has condemned the blatantly unlawful practice of detention in transit zones. Though we are happy that our clients are getting compensation, these terrible cases should never have happened in the first place.
Although the transit zones have been closed, the Hungarian state continues the mass human rights violations at the Southern border. The authorities still push people back to Serbia, even though both the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union condemned this practice in 2020,” – said Gábor Győző, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s attorney-at-law, who represented the Iranian Christian asylum-seeker in the Strasbourg proceedings.
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The foreign ministry is calling on Hungarian citizens to leave Lebanon in the current war situation, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The site of an Israeli missile impact in the Dahiye neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital on 2 October 2024. Photo: MTI/AP/Haszan Ammar
In the coming period, in case of an emergency, the embassy will be able to help most quickly those Hungarians who register for consular protection, the statement added.
“We highly recommend that everyone leave the country without delay with any commercial flights that still operate and to encourage those compatriots who are on temporary stay to do the same,” the statement said.
The ministry also recommends that people regularly consult the consular service’s website which offers continually updated travel advice and download the Konzinfo Utazom mobile app for up-to-date information.
Official: Hungary grants emergency aid for internally displaced people in Lebanon
The government is providing 100,000 euros in emergency aid through the Hungary Helps humanitarian programme for helping internally displaced people in Lebanon, the state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians said on Wednesday.
Hungary is following with concern the escalation in the Middle East which is now expanding into southern Lebanon, Tristan Azbej said in a video on Facebook.
“Our Lebanese partners are reporting a deepening crisis in the country: hundreds of thousands are fleeing to the north, leaving their homes behind,” Azbej said. “Their accommodation has not been resolved, with masses of people having to stay in the open air without supplies, medicine or food. Many in Lebanon are in a critical situation.”
He said the government was responding to the situation by extending 100,000 euros in emergency aid through the Hungary Helps Programme.
“This is how the Hungarian government is contributing to the protection of internally displaced people in Lebanon through the Lebanon branch of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and other Christian organisations,” the state secretary said.
Several flights were forced to divert to alternate airports on Tuesday due to the severe Middle East conflict. While Emirates’ Budapest-Dubai flight rerouted to Istanbul, four Emirates planes landed at Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc International Airport, including two giant Airbus A380 aircraft.
Due to the conflict in Middle Eastern countries, many flights had to change their routes, and several were forced to turn back and land at alternate airports, AIRportal.hu reports. Israeli airports suspended both arrivals and departures, while airspace over Iraq and Jordan was closed. Restrictions were also imposed over parts of Iranian airspace.
Photo: MTI/Mihádák Zoltán
The Emirates EK 112 flight from Budapest to Dubai turned back at the Turkish-Iranian border and later landed in Istanbul. After a delay of 2 hours and 20 minutes, it resumed its journey. According to information provided by Budapest Airport to AIRportal.hu, three Emirates flights turned back over Turkey and landed in Budapest.
The flights, originating from Dublin, Düsseldorf, and Prague, were en route to Dubai, carrying a total of 1,215 passengers. Two of the flights were operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, while the Düsseldorf flight was serviced by an Airbus A380-800. An Emirates Airbus A380-800 operating the Nice-Dubai route also landed in Budapest, diverting there instead of the originally planned stop in Vienna.
Photo: MTI/Mihádák Zoltán
After refuelling, all four flights continued their journey to Dubai between 11 PM on Tuesday and 3 AM on Wednesday, taking a longer route through Egyptian and Saudi Arabian airspace to avoid the conflict zones. Meanwhile, three Emirates Airbus A380s, which were scheduled to land in Vienna, also diverted, AIRportal.hu writes.
Supporting Israel is an investment in Europe’s own security, János Bóka, the European affairs minister, said on Tuesday, arguing that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East posed a direct threat to the continent in the form of migration and terrorism.
2nd International Pro-Israel Summit in Budapest
Hungary considers Israel’s security a regional and global security issue, Bóka said at the second International Pro-Israel Summit in Budapest, adding that Hungary saw Israel as “one of the most important players” in the Middle East’s stability.
Israel and Hungary have a strategic partnership based on mutual respect, deep historical, cultural and interpersonal relations, broadening economic cooperation and common values and interests, the minister said, adding that Hungary would welcome if these relations could continue to grow under peaceful and stable circumstances.
Israel has the right to self-defence
He said Israel was exercising its “inalienable right to self-defence” after last October’s “unprecedented terrorist attack”. Israel and its people, he added, had a right to a secure life in their homeland, and that right could not be restricted or made subject to any conditions.
Bóka said
those who “want to erase Israel from the map” also wanted to “erase the European Jewish community”.
He warned that anti-Semitism had not been eradicated in Europe and could only be overcome by preserving the continuity of living European Jewish tradition.
The minister said that as the holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary considered the fight against anti-Semitism a responsibility. He added that this could be made effective by supporting and raising awareness of European Jewish life and protecting Europe’s Jewish heritage.
Miklós Szánthó, head of the Center for Fundamental Rights, which organised the event, said Hungary was the safest place for Europe’s Jewish community today. Hungary’s right wing, he added, was Israel’s “closest ally”, and Hungary stood by Israel at all international forums.
He said Hungary had become an “honest and consistent friend” of Israel because the Middle Eastern country was fighting for the same way of life Hungary represented, and both countries sought sovereignty and a just peace.
Szánthó insisted that “terrorists and the left” were attacking Israel because its millennia-long existence posed a challenge to both “Islamist jihadists and the cult of woke”.
Miri Regev, Israel’s transport minister
Miri Regev, Israel’s transport minister, said Hungary was the only European country that had understood the threat posed by Islamic terrorism and understood that the conflict was not just a political one, but that Hamas was waging a war against Western culture, and specifically democracy, individual freedom and the freedom of religion and speech.
Israel, he said, did not want a war, but wanted everyone to be able to live and practise their faith in peace on its territory. But those who wanted to destroy Israel, Regev added, would have to face a country that was determined and ready to defend itself.
The minister thanked Hungary on behalf of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for its constant and unconditional support and for the government’s ban on pro-Hamas demonstrations.
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After a meeting of the international coalition against the Islamic State held at the US State Department, a government official underlined the need to support Iraq and its wider region against terrorism “related to uncontrolled migration”.
Though the 87-country coalition formed 10 years ago has established that IS is no longer a force of power in Iraq, terrorist groups allied to it are still present in a wider geographical area, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, Péter Sztáray, the foreign ministry state secretary for security and energy policy, told MTI in Washington, DC.
The Iraqi government has said the country still requires international presence, he said, noting that coalition countries will maintain one in some form. Hungarian soldiers are still on the ground in Iraq.
Leaders coalition delegations pledged to aim to raise 394 million US dollars for areas previously liberated from IS in Iraq and Syria, and more than 200 million dollars has already been raised in pledges. At the same time, they issued a statement underlining their commitment to eradicating IS wherever it operates.
He noted that Hungary is launching cooperation with Chad, including humanitarian, economic, and security elements, to contribute to efforts to shore up security and combat migration.
Meanwhile, Sztáray said the 2015 migration wave had proved Hungary right that the uncontrolled influx of migrants undermined European security.
The international community must prevent a further escalation in the crisis in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York on Tuesday, warning of the “serious impact” that an even deeper crisis would have on global security.
Middle East
Commenting on recent “unsettling reports” from the Middle East, Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement, that like the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East was moving ever closer to escalation and an expansion of the crisis, “which could also severely undermine global security”.
“The involvement of Lebanon in the conflict, I believe, has significance beyond itself because if one more country becomes involved in the conflict, it will not stop at the country’s borders,” he warned.
“I think the Lebanese people bear no blame for the crisis that has developed, and I really hope that the Lebanese people won’t have to suffer because of it,” he said.
He pointed to the Hungarian government’s close ties with Lebanon’s Christian community, saying they were in constant contact and Hungary would provide them with any help they may need.
“The Hungarian government has carried out roughly 5 billion forints’ worth of development, support, and humanitarian programs in Lebanon in recent years, which were used to build churches and support the operations of schools and monasteries,” he noted.
Szijjártó also expressed hope that “everyone will have the sound judgment in the coming days” needed to prevent a further escalation of the Middle East crisis and “the suffering of further millions.”
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said he is scheduled to meet his Lebanese counterpart on Wednesday, and the Middle East crisis will be one of the topics on the agenda.
Africa strategy
Concerning his bilateral talks scheduled for Tuesday, the minister said he will discuss security matters, including migration pressure, with some of his African and Asian counterparts.
“I think it’s clear to everyone by now that if Europe is unable to draft a comprehensive Africa strategy, it won’t be able to escape a degree of migration pressure that is incomparably greater than what it is experiencing now,” he said.
Szijjártó said Africa’s population is projected to grow by around 750 million over the next two decades, “and these people will have to be given jobs, education, and health care.”
“If we can’t make that happen, we could be faced with the biggest humanitarian disaster in history or the greatest level of migration pressure Europe has ever seen,” he warned.
“It would be good to avoid both, so we’ll be speaking about cooperation on migration and development with the leaders of the African states,” he added.
Honduras
On another subject, Szijjártó said Honduras is joining Hungary’s scholarship programme, with the country set to offer Honduran students the opportunity to study at Hungarian universities. He also welcomed Cuba’s interest in Hungarian water management technologies.
Szijjártó said he would also meet the foreign ministers of Asian countries and that Hungary and Cambodia agreed to open embassies in each other’s countries. The minister said he is set to sign a cooperation agreement on diplomacy training with Uzbekistan and that he will discuss the situation in the Middle East with the top diplomat of the United Arab Emirates.
Airstrikes between Israel and Lebanon intensified on Tuesday, leading several airlines (Hungarian-owned Wizz Air, among others) to suspend flights to Israel.
In response to recent rocket attacks launched from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes targeting the group’s positions and rocket launchers. These rockets had been aimed at Afula and other towns in the Jezreel Valley, according to an IDF spokesperson. Several Hezbollah sites were hit, resulting in secondary explosions, suggesting that weapons were stored in the targeted buildings.
Several airlines suspend flights to the Middle East
As tensions escalated between Israel and Hezbollah, more airlines announced the suspension of flights, Világgazdaság reports. Wizz Air, which operates from Hungary, temporarily cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv and Amman, which were scheduled for Tuesday. British Airways also suspended flights for 48 hours, while Azerbaijan Airlines scrapped its planned flights for the day.
Wizz Air stated it is in contact with affected passengers and continues to closely monitor the situation. On Monday, Lufthansa extended its suspension of flights to and from Israel until 14 October, a move affecting Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings as well.
Several other airlines have halted their Israeli routes indefinitely. United Airlines and Croatia Airlines have stopped flights without announcing a specific timeline. Flights from LOT and Virgin Atlantic have been suspended until 25 September, British Airways until the 26th, Air India until 24 October, Ryanair until the 27th, and Vueling through the end of October. Delta Airlines, Air Canada, and EasyJet have postponed flights well into the end of 2024, with EasyJet pushing its suspension until the end of March 2025.
Concerns are growing among travellers with upcoming reservations, especially those booked for the Jewish holidays. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox pilgrims traditionally travel to Uman, Ukraine, for Rosh Hashanah. Despite the ongoing conflict, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport remains fully operational, with no flights being redirected to other countries, according to an airport authority spokesperson.
Israeli air strikes in Lebanon claim nearly 500 lives as death toll keeps rising
Airstrikes carried out by Israeli forces have intensified in recent days, and as of Monday, nearly 500 people have died in Lebanon as a result. The country experienced its deadliest day of Israeli airstrikes since the ongoing exchanges began nearly a year ago. According to Lebanese authorities, 492 people, including 35 children, lost their lives on Monday alone due to the strikes targeting Hezbollah militants, Világgazdaság writes in another article. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the total casualty count includes 35 children and 58 women and that over 1,645 people have been injured. The death toll continues to rise as airstrikes persist.
US to send more troops to the Middle East
As the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalates, the United States is deploying more troops to the Middle East. In a daily press conference, Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said, without giving details, that it would be a small military contingent, but did not say what the new units would be tasked with, Világgazdaság reports.
Nearly three thousand people were injured in Lebanon when thousands of pagers used for communication exploded simultaneously in people’s pockets in southern Beirut on 17 September. Many of the victims are believed to be Hezbollah members, according to international reports. The devices are linked to global companies, including one in Hungary.
The AR-924 pagers involved in the explosions were reportedly manufactured by BAC Consulting Ltd., a company based in Budapest, Hungary, according to AP reports. This information was based on a statement from Taiwan’s Gold Apollo, released on Wednesday. Gold Apollo clarified that although their brand name was licensed on the pagers, the actual manufacturing was done by another company in Budapest.
Later, Cristiana Rosaria Bársony-Arcidiacono, the owner of BAC Consulting Ltd., confirmed to NBC News that her company had worked with Gold Apollo. When asked about the pagers and the explosions, she explained, “I don’t make the pagers. I’m just the middleman. I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” as reported by Blikk.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs stated on Wednesday that Gold Apollo exported 260,000 pagers between August 2022 and August 2024, mainly to European and U.S. markets. They emphasised that there had been no previous reports of explosions involving these products, nor any reports of the company exporting pagers directly to Lebanon.
According to the latest reports by Telex, the pagers were purchased from Taiwan by a Sofia-based company, which later sold them to Hezbollah. However, the Hungarian company involved, BAC Consulting, was only an intermediary, and the devices never physically entered Hungary.
The Hungarian government confirmed this in an official statement. Zoltán Kovács, State Secretary for International Communications, said „Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary. It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices have never been in Hungary. During further investigations, Hungarian national security services are cooperating with all relevant international partner agencies and organisations,”
Telex further reported that BAC Consulting Ltd. did not perform any significant activities and was only registered with a headquarters service provider. The company had no office and acted solely as an intermediary.
The real manufacturers behind the pagers are not Hungarians
The Bulgarian company involved in the transaction has a Norwegian owner. Similar to BAC Consulting, it is also registered with a seat provider and is one of 196 companies registered through this service. The Bulgarian company, founded in April 2022, claims to specialise in project management, though it likely does not manufacture anything.
It remains unclear to what extent Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono was involved as an intermediary, but it is certain that her role was limited to covering up the involvement of the Bulgarian company.
Telex also reported that BAC Consulting is registered in a condominium on Szőnyi Street. While listed as a consultancy firm, its website claims involvement in a variety of projects, from newspaper publishing to oil production. The company has only been operational for two years, with a profit of HUF 13 million (EUR 32,900) last year.
According to The New York Times, BAC Consulting was actually founded by Israelis, along with at least two other front companies, to conceal the real manufacturers of the explosive pagers—Israeli intelligence officers. This report, based on statements from an Israeli intelligence officer, provides unprecedented details on how the explosive devices ended up in the hands of Hezbollah members.
UPDATE: DK calls for convening natl security cttee over Lebanon pager blasts
The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has proposed convening parliament’s national security committee over the mass pager attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány told an online press conference on Thursday that “a Hungarian intermediary company … acting as a front company for the Israeli secret services” was linked to the case.
“Israel and the government of [Benjamin] Netanyahu … is in a close alliance with [the Hungarian] government,” Gyurcsany said. “So one possibility is that our ally established a front company in Hungary without our knowing, using it to attack a terrorist organisation.”
“An obvious consequence of this is that if this becomes public, Hungary, too, can become a target of terrorist attacks,” he said. “It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t know about this.”
Gyurcsány said it was “also a problem” if the government had known that Israel’s secret services were using Hungary as a “front”, adding that he did not believe “Hungary should have authorised this”.
Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for international communication and relations, said on Facebook on Wednesday that the matter “poses no security risk to Hungary”. The Hungarian authorities, he said, “have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary”. “It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices never entered Hungary,” he added.
Zoltán Sas, the opposition head of the national security committee, convened the regular session of the committee for 26 September on which they will discuss the issue of the pagers, economx.hu wrote.
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Hungary and Kuwait have agreed to boost cooperation in several areas, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Thursday in Kuwait City.
Hungary-Kuwait cooperation
Speaking after talks with the Kuwaiti foreign, finance and trade ministers, Péter Szijjártó said cooperation was based on “mutual sympathy and the fact that the history of both countries is marked by the fight for freedom and independence.”
According to a ministry statement, the ministers signed a cooperation agreement on exchange programmes between diplomatic academies, as well as on cultural cooperation.
The latter will bring Hungarian music and literature to Kuwait, he said. “We have also signed an agreement on cooperation in cyber protection, a response to an extremely severe modern challenge, as wars and conflicts are now clearly being fought in cyberspace as well as in reality,” Szijjártó said.
Hungary, he added, had already garnered international recognition in cyber protection, “and cooperation with Kuwait will boost our security in cyberspace”. A leading Hungarian company in the field has already set up a subsidiary in Kuwait, and its 50 professionals will start working with local authorities and private clients next year, he said.
Szijjártó welcomed that talks between Hungarian oil and gas company MOL and its Kuwaiti counterpart were “in the home stretch” on Kuwait using Hungarian technologies towards the production of crude oil in a more effective and environmentally friendly way.
An investment protection agreement is also in the pipeline aiming to promote cooperation between Hungarian and Kuwaiti companies, Szijjártó said.
Hungary will also help Kuwait in drafting and implementing strict food safety regulations, he said. “Hungary’s food safety system is the strictest and most effective in Europe. Keeping Hungarian agriculture and food industry GMO-free is enshrined in the constitution,” he said.
Szijjártó praised Kuwait’s “calm stance” in stabilising the Middle East, a region blighted by several armed conflicts and under the serious threat of terrorism.
“So we have strengthened Kuwait and Hungary’s cooperation against terrorism in international forums in order to stop the spread of terrorist organisations…” he said. The ministers also discussed upcoming summits of the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Hungary is working for the EU to strengthen ties with the region, which could help recover the EU’s competitiveness and economic momentum, he said. “We are calling for re-starting negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and the Persian Gulf.”
Gulf Strategic Solutions (GSS), a specialist events company in the Middle East and Fesitpay, the cashless payment technology provider, today announced the signing of a strategic alliance with the aim of developing integrated cashless payment solutions and event planning services across the Middle East.
Festipay historic agreement
The new partnership will aim to develop market leading event services, with a focus on the development, promotion and distribution of Festipay’s cashless payment solutions, which have been utilized across several major events across Europe and the Middle East in recent years.
GSS is an affiliated company of Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and was established in 2023 to develop specialist event planning services for third parties, based on its 20 years of expertise in running the Formula 1 Grand Prix and many other significant events for third parties.
Festipay at the Bahrein Formula 1 Grand Prix. Source: Press Release GSS – Festipay
Its relationship with Festipaywas cemented last year as The Bahrain Grand Prix became a cashless venue for the first time ever, making use of the technology and expertise provided by Festipay. As well as providing integrated point of sale technology across the venue for card transactions, it also developed “BIC Pay” a pre-paid card solution for customers, meaning that fans enjoyed simple, fast cashless payments across BIC. The technology has also been used for other major events at BIC, including The World Endurance Championship and The Bahrain Darts Masters.
Festipay in the Buda Castle. Photo: FB/Festipay
Ambitious plans
GSS will work with Festipay to promote and implement the cashless solution and associated technologies to major events across the region.
Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of Bahrain International Circuit, said:
“Since its establishment, GSS has sought to partner with best-in-class organisations that share our ambition to deliver high quality events. Festipay’s expertise in cashless payment solutions, as evidenced by it’s work at last year’s Formula 1 race in Bahrain, means that this strategic alliance is a natural partnership for us. We look forward to working with the team at Festipay on new and exciting opportunities.”
Source: Press Release GSS – Festipay
László Márki, CEO of Festipay, said:
“Festipay has been a key player in the Central and Eastern European event digital payment market for a decade. A significant milestone for us was that we had won the digital payment service contract for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix. And it is equally important that we have found not just a client but a strategic partner in Bahrain, allowing us to collaborate closely in the Middle East. According to the agreement we have just signed, we are entering one of the world’s most rapidly growing digital payment markets in partnership with GSS.”
Bahrain International Circuit. Source: Press Release GSS – Festipay
Hungarian government supports Festipay agreement
Hungary and Bahrain are both part of the “global pro-peace majority”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with his Bahrain counterpart in Manama on Wednesday.
The world has entered “an era of dangers”, Szijjártó told a joint press conference with Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, according to a ministry statement, noting the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East. “And I come from the European Union, an integration gripped by pro-war hysteria,” the minister said. “And since Hungary, by contrast, has taken a pro-peace position, we especially appreciate the countries in other parts of the world which take such a firm and loud stand for peace the way Bahrain does.”“We are also proud that Hungary and Bahrain are both part of the global pro-peace majority, which does in fact exist despite the fact that European mainstream media constantly tries to deny it,” he added. Szijjártó expressed his appreciation for Bahrain’s efforts to strengthen the stability of the Middle East, underlining that everyone had a right to live in peace in their homeland. “And we will continue to take a joint stand for urgent peace in Ukraine,” he said. “We were in agreement that there’s no solution on the battlefield and that only a ceasefire and peace talks can lead to a solution… Weapons deliveries only aggravate the situation.” “And we will also continue to take joint action against terrorism and terrorist organisations, and we’d like it if the conditions for the release of the hostages were established as soon as possible,” he added.Szijjártó warned that the growing threat of escalation carried the risk of a re-emergence of geopolitical blocs, saying that Hungary and Bahrain both believed in cooperation and connectivity. He said Hungary urged the European Union to develop the closest possible cooperation with the Gulf countries, resume free trade talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council and reach a visa agreement. “This is why it’s an honour for us that the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit will be held during Hungary’s EU presidency, during which, we sincerely hope, the European countries will hear the pro-peace voice of the Arab countries,” he said.Meanwhile, Szijjártó said Hungary and Bahrain signed two key agreements on Wednesday. Under one of the agreements, Hungary will from next year offer university scholarships to ten Bahraini students each year. The scholarship programme will guarantee young Bahraini athletes the opportunity to do sports and study in Hungary, he said.The other agreement concerns the reciprocal protection of investments, the minister said, adding that this was important because of the Hungarian businesses that are about to enter the Bahrain market. He welcomed that Hungary’s Festipayis investing in software development in Bahrain, as part of which it will supply a cashless payment solution at the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, “and then hopefully other events as well”. The Hungarian government is supporting the investment with a one million euro grant, he added.Szijjártó also welcomed that talks on oil and gas company MOL’s investments in Bahrain were “in the home stretch”, and as such the company is set to supply eco-friendly oil extraction technology to the Gulf country. He said an agreement could soon be reached on the construction of a rubber bitumen plant in the country by MOL and its local peer.
The Gulf Strategic Solutions
Based on an unparalleled level of experience in the events sector, GSS is a consulting business for event organization and execution across the Middle East. Leveraging the company’s expertise across all areas of event management, GSS offers turnkey solutions to its clients, which can deliver the detail and operational performance of any kind of major event across the region. The Company has over 20 years’ experience in managing events including the Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as several non-motorsport events for third party clients in Bahrain.
The Festipay
Festipay is Central and Eastern Europe’s leading digital payment and integrated event management service provider, serving thousands of merchants across 13 countries at festivals, events, and hospitality venues. The company has become a trusted partner for organizers and merchants in various industries by offering seamless payment solutions. Festipay specializes in state-of-the-art, integrated fintech solutions and secure transactions, enabling organizers to deliver exceptional event experiences through innovative payment solutions.
Festipay’s services are used at some of the largest festivals in Hungary and Romania. Additionally, they are present at numerous permanent venues, including Budapest’s thermal baths, ski resorts, and entertainment venues.
Beyond its success in providing integrated event management services for Hungary’s and Romania’s largest festivals, Festipay’s achievements include the inaugural UNTOLD Dubai this year. The largest electronic music megafestival in the Emirates also utilized Festipay for entry management and cashless payments. Following its operations in Europe and Southeast Asia, Festipay is now prepared to serve events and merchants in the Middle Eastern countries as well.
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Travel time on Wizz Air flights increases – read more HERE
BREAKING: Flights suspended at Budapest Airport due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East – details in THISarticle
There will be “rather dangerous proposals” on the agenda of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Budapest before departing to attend the event.
“The EU’s foreign policy chief, who is fortunately leaving his post soon, is behaving like a loose cannon and is making increasingly dangerous proposals (…) as regards both Ukraine and the Middle East,” he said, adding that those proposals “clearly carry the risk of escalation”.
Under Josep Borrell‘s proposals, members and ministers of the Israeli government should be put on an EU list of sanctions, which Szijjártósaid “would make communication, talks and maintaining contact with an ally, Israel, difficult and would on the other hand send signals that would clearly endanger the security and long-term stability of the Middle East.”
“Borrell wants more weapons to be delivered to Ukraine and wants to allow an option for the Ukrainian armed forces to use western equipment already dispatched to that country when launching a strike against inner Russian territories,” the foreign minister said.
“We firmly oppose proposals we consider dangerous because they carry the risk of an escalation of the war in Ukraine,” he said, adding that Hungary would “represent a pro-peace position” at the upcoming meeting in Brussels.
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The Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air, has decided to alter the route of some popular flights to the Middle East to avoid Iraqi airspace. This adjustment will lengthen the journey, necessitating an intermediate stop for refuelling and crew changes.
Refuelling and new crew for Wizz Air planes
According to Forbes, Wizz Air will continue its flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, due to the current safety situation in the Middle East, the airline will now fly on a modified route. The distinctive violet-purple aircraft will now fly over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, bypassing Iraqi airspace, as detailed in a letter sent to Forbes by the airline.
With the new flight plan, aircraft returning to Budapest will make a technical stop in Larnaca, Cyprus. Wizz Air established a base on the island in 2020. During this stop, planes will be refuelled, and some members of the original crew will be replaced.
Photo: FB/Wizz Air
Wizz Air modifies routes due to Middle Eastern tensions
The airline has assured that the new technical stop will not significantly impact travel time, though passengers should expect some delays. Those purchasing tickets via the Wizz Air website or app will receive automatic notifications regarding the extended journey time.
The change is in response to recent escalations in the Middle East. Lebanese Hezbollah’s recent attack on Israel was a retaliation for the assassination of Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Additionally, Iran has threatened Israel following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 31 July. As the situation in the region continues to escalate, the Hungarian low-cost airline’s precautionary measures are expected to be well-received by passengers.
The Hungarian government supports Israel. Photo: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter
New flights and new fines
In July, Wizz Air announced several new routes from Budapest, including destinations such as Girona (Spain), Genoa (Italy), Marrakech (Morocco), Memmingen (Germany), and Salerno (Southern Italy). Further details can be found in our previous articles HERE and HERE.
However, the airline has faced some setbacks. In early August, the company was fined €772,000 by the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) for unfair commercial practices. Additionally, GVH has launched another investigation into the airline’s booking system and pricing practices for alleged unfair practices.
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Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Monday said there was growing concern worldwide about developments in the Middle East.
In a post on Facebook, the minister noted that he had spoken by phone with Israeli and Iranian foreign ministers Israel Katz and Ali Bagheri Kani, respectively, and the discussions “are proving anew that we’re in the 24th hour”.
If conflict spread to another country, he said, it “could easily turn into a regional war, presenting a threat to global security”. The international community must “concentrate all its strength on preventing escalation”, he added.
Hungary’s position is clear, he said: “Israel must not be left to suffer another terrorist attack such as that of last October; at the same time, everything must be done to prevent the outbreak of a major regional war.”
As we wrote a few days earlier, Flights suspended at Budapest Airport due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, details HERE.
As we wrote earlier, PM Orbán remained alone again in EU with rejecting statement about Israel, details HERE.
Due to the escalating situation in the region, Wizz Air will be temporarily suspending flights to and from Israel and Jordan until 4 August, the Hungarian low-cost airlines wrote in an official statement. Other airlines continue to carry passengers between those countries and Budapest Airport.
Wizz Air leaves, Ryanair remains
According to airportal.hu, a Hungarian outlet focusing on air travel news, Wizz Airpromised compensation for their passengers. They regret the inconvenience and offer affected customers a 120% refund in Wizz credits, a full refund in the original form of payment or free rebooking options.
“If passengers booked through an online travel agency or another third party, they should reach out to them to receive the refund or rebook to a different flight”, Wizz Air added.
The decision concerns their Saturday and Sunday Tel-Aviv flights from Budapest Airport under the registry number W6 2325/6.
Ryanair, El Al and other Israeli airlines did not make similar decisions and continue to fly between Budapest and the region.
Photo: FB/Budapest Airport
Other airlines also decided to suspend flights
The Lufthansa Group cancelled all their passenger and cargo flights to Tehran and Tel-Aviv until 8 August and extended the suspension of their Beirut flights until 12 August.
KLM said on Friday that they would suspend their Tel-Aviv flights, and American Delta and United decided similarly before.
Several other airlines suspended flights to Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, including Aegean, Condor, Egyptair, Emirates, Etihad, Royal Jordanian, Iran Air, Pegasus and Qatar Airways.
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Wizz Air launches new direct flight from Budapest to Mediterranean paradise – Read more HERE
Wizz Air receivesserious fine in Hungary for unfair commercial practice
The foreign ministry has contacted 165 Hungarian citizens living in Lebanon and offered them help to leave in the wake of a recent escalation of events in the Middle East; 18 Hungarian citizens and their family members are returning to Hungary in a joint operation with the defence ministry, the foreign minister said on Thursday.
Péter Szijjártósaid on Facebook that despite all the concerns raised in Europe, events in recent days had increased the risk of escalation in the Middle East conflict.
“Beyond promoting peace at all international forums and trying to prevent an escalation of events, the government’s primary responsibility … is to guarantee the safety of Hungarian people,” he said. As part of this effort, 165 Hungarian citizens staying in Lebanon were contacted by phone or electronically in the past few days, he added.
Photo: FB/Szijjártó
After receiving confirmation that they were all well, the ministry offered its help for their safest and fastest return to Hungary, provided by a Hungarian Army aircraft, he said. Eventually 18 Hungarian citizens accepted the opportunity, including seven children, and direct relatives of these Hungarian families, he said.
Photo: FB/Szijjártó
“It was unfortunately not the first such operation carried out in the region, and as it had been done before, we informed our allies about the Hungarian operation and told them that we could also help them with returning their citizens home,” he said.
A Hungarian Army aircraft has recently left Lebanon’s airspace carrying 18 Hungarians and 11 foreigners, including five Czech, a French and a Slovak citizens.
Photo: FB/Szijjártó
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