On the picture Mr. Jozef Verbruggen, director Untamed Travelling, Ms. Nathalie van Polanen, Petel-Ottens, Travel Counsellors – Dutch travel agent, Mrs. Claudine Rubagumya, strategic market specialist Rwanda Development Board and H.E. Jean Pierre Karabaranga, Ambassador for the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in the Netherlands.
For the 10th time Visit Rwanda is showcasing its divers tourist attractions at the Vakantiebeurs tourism exhibition, taking place this week until Sunday 13th of January in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The exhibition kicked of with an industry day for the Dutch travel professionals and travel media.
Rwanda is among the 160 countries that participate at the Vakantiebeurs, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors. Visit Rwanda at the Vakantiebeurs is about getting inspired about the country and everything Rwanda has to offer.
First, by getting in touch with the local specialists from Rwanda and hearing the stories and experiences from first hand. Representatives from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the Embassy of Rwanda in The Hague, Amahoro Tours, Wildlife Tours Rwanda and WOLF DMC are available at the Visit Rwanda stand in hall 12 during the five-day event.
Then, cultural inspiration will come while enjoying a traditional dance performance by the Rwanda dance group, followed by a culinary experience served by the barista on the Rwanda stand, serving specialty coffee and tea from the land of thousand hills.
On behalf of the Rwanda Development Board, Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Jean Pierre Karabaranga, invited the Dutch tourism professionals and travel media to the Visit Rwanda network reception, which was co-hosted by Dutch tour operator Untamed Travelling. At the end of the cocktail a raffle was organized where the travel agents could win a VIP Holiday to Rwanda. Ambassador Karabaranga and Mr Jozef Verbruggen, managing director of Untamed Travelling, were honored to pick the winner and to hand over the cheque.
RDB Tourism launches mountain biking
Following the launch of mountain biking and cycle tourism, RDB (Rwanda Development Board) invites cyclists, both local and foreign, to enjoy the world class trails across the country.
Tourists can now enjoy riding on 11 different trails across the country. The trails, which are a combined distance of 760 Km and give cyclists a chance to discover Rwanda anew, are found in every province in the country. The diverse trails cater for all skill levels, whether beginners or professionals.
To give cyclist a rewarding experience, RDB has ensured the maintenance of the different cycling trails and designed and mounted clearly understood signposts along the trails to guide cyclists. In addition, RDB has trained specialised guides and bicycle mechanics to ensure that that the cycle experience is seamless as possible. Secure campsites and other accommodation options are found on the cycling trails.
The famous Congo-Nile Trail, borders the scenic Lake Kivu, now attracts over 5,000 tourists annually.
www.rdb.rw/rdb-tourism-launches-mountain-biking/
MICE tourism in Rwanda is growing
Conveniently located close to Kigali airport, the Kigali Convention Centre offers a premium environment for regional and international conventions, exhibitions, festivals, meetings and other events. The iconic Kigali Convention Centre (KCC) is the premium events venue in Rwanda since its opening in 2016 and a hugely popular MICE destination in the East African region. Designed to reflect traditional Rwandan architecture, the centre has 18 different venues which can host more than 5,000 delegates at a time, with up to 2,600 guests in the main auditorium.
www.visitrwanda.com/meet-in-rwanda/
One&Only Nyungwe House – Nyungwe Forest National Park
One&Only Nyungwe House in Rwanda opened its doors on 1 October 2018 and is nestled within the Gisakura working tea plantation, on the edge of one of the oldest rainforests in Africa. Steeped in natural beauty with nature on its doorstep, the resort has curated a comprehensive and bespoke itinerary of activities for guests, from adventures that can be had at the resort, to those that explore the Nyungwe Forest and beyond.
www.oneandonlyresorts.com/one-and-only-nyungwe-house-rwanda
Wilderness Safaris to Magashi Camp in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park
Wilderness Safaris will be expanding its ecotourism footprint in Rwanda by opening a new camp in Akagera National Park in mid-March 2019. In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and conservation group African Parks the six-tented camp, called Magashi, will be situated in the north-eastern part of Akagera overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga. The long-term funding support of The Howard G. Buffett Foundation to African Parks for the protection and development of Akagera has made this further investment by Wilderness possible.
Guests will be able to view a range of wildlife on expertly-guided game drives, walks and boating trips, including buffalo, lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe, spotted hyaena, zebra, topi, roan, eland and more. The Park also boasts almost 500 species of birds including the spectacular shoebill with its implausibly massive bill and the near-endemic red-faced barbet.
www.wilderness-safaris.com
Singita Kwitonda Lodge and Kataza House – Volcanoes National Park
Singita is honoured to be opening Kwitonda Lodge and Kataza House in late 2019 in Rwanda, an extraordinarily beautiful, small country where more than one third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live in the high-altitude cloud forests of Volcanoes National Park. Set within a landscape of wetlands and lush meadows, there will be eight suites and a four-bedroom villa linked by volcanic rock pathways to a central lodge. Singita Kwitonda Lodge and Kataza House will be built to embody the spirit of Rwanda and offer a tribute to the lodge’s namesake – Kwitonda – a great silverback gorilla whose legend lives on in Rwanda and was known for his humility and gentleness.
www.rwanda.singita.com
Arusha, The Hague, 7 January 2019 – On Friday, 21 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elected Judge Yusuf Aksar of Turkey to the judicial roster of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism).
Judge Aksar has been a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 2016 and an ad hoc Judge of the European Court of Human Rights since 2015. He is also currently serving as a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Maltepe University in Istanbul, Turkey.
Judge Aksar was elected following the vacancies on the Mechanism’s judicial roster created by the departure of Judge Bakone Justice Moloto of South Africa and the non-renewal of the term of Judge Aydin Sefa Akay of Turkey. Judge Aksar was elected by the UNGA from the list of candidates submitted by the United Nations Security Council and following nominations from Member States of the United Nations.
With respect to the election of the second Judge to the Mechanism roster, since no candidate obtained an absolute majority after six rounds of balloting, the meeting was suspended and is expected to be resumed at a later date for another round of voting.
In accordance with its Statute, the Mechanism has a roster of 25 independent Judges who serve both branches of the Mechanism.
On the picture the Permanent Representative of Germany to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Christine Weil, and the Director-General of the OPCW, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias.
The Hague, Netherlands — 7 January 2019 — The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has received a voluntary contribution of €1 Million from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany towards the Trust Fund for the Implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The Fund supports the Organisation’s activities in relation to assistance and protection against chemical weapons, while the German contribution aims to enhance the OPCW’s response capabilities against the use of chemical weapons to ensure a swift and effective response to OPCW Member States’ requests.
The donation was formalised with an exchange of letters by the Permanent Representative of Germany to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Christine Weil, and the Director-General of the OPCW, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, which took place on 5 December at the Organisation’s Headquarters in The Hague.
The Director-General expressed: “I thank the Government of Germany for this important donation to strengthen the OPCW’s Assistance and Protection capacity building programmes. This support clearly attests to the strength of Germany’s commitment to the goals of the Convention.”
Ambassador Weil underlined that the contribution aligns with Germany’s intention to increase its support to the OPCW’s capacities to assist States Parties in the implementation of CWC obligations.
Since December 2018 Longines is available in Brussels at the two Yvan’s Jewerellers boutiques located at Galerie du Roi and Galerie de la Reine.
Driven by its vision “Elegance is an attitude”, Longines offers a large selection of watches for men and women, with quartz or automatic movement and in different materials.
The futustic Porsche Taycanis the brand’s first move into general-production electrified cars.
In fact, Porsche is investing more than €6 billion ($6.9 billion) through 2022 on electric mobility; by 2025, it says, half of the vehiclesPorsche produces, such as an electric version of the Macan, shall be all-electric or hybrid.
Moroever Porsche has joined with such competitors as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG,and Ford Motor Co.to develop fast-charging infrastructures in Europe. They are using racing such as Formula E as a testing bed to develop technology they may use in those races for electric cars they can sell to consumers.
The name can be roughly translated as “lively young horse”, referencing the imagery at the heart of the Porsche crest, which has featured a leaping steed since 1952. “Our new electric sports car is strong and dependable; it’s a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances and that epitomises freedom”, explains OliverBlume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG in a statement – link thereof below. The oriental name also signifies the launch of the first electric sports car with the soul of a Porsche. Porsche announced the name for its first purely electricseries as part of the “70 years of sports cars” ceremony.
For further information:https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/products/porsche-taycan-mission-e-name-of-series-production-electric-sports-car-electromobility-concept-study-70-years-sportscar-15602.html
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Friday, 16 November 2018, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: Belgium’s top envoy to Germany, H.E. Ambassador Baron Willem Van de Voorde, paid a visite de courtoisie to the First Mayor of Hamburg, Dr. Peter Tschentscher (Social Democrat) seconded by the City-State’s State Secretary, Dr. Annette Tabbara, Plenipotentiary to the Federation, the European Union and for Foreign Affairs.
Baron Willem Van de Voorde who was accredited to the German Federal Republic on 20 September 2018 was accompanied by his country’s Honorary Consul Rainer Schöndube.
Ambassador Van de Voorde is a career diplomat previously having served in Vienna as head of mission with accreditations to Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Likewise he served in the cabinet of Vice-Premier and Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders.
On 29 December 18 girls representative of different East African Countries had a beauty contest in the city of Vlaardingen the Netherlands.The winners of the contest were Josine Thijssen from Kenia,Ore Hoogendijk from Rwanda, and Antije Helder from Zambia.
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Photography/Video and Report : Buonamassa G.
By Frans Scholten and Edwin Verhage.
In the ten years of its existence, the Police’s Diplomatic Front Office (DFO) Unit The Hague has proven its value as a central point of contact for the diplomatic corps and representatives of international organizations. The office has been able to develop itself as a crucial contact point and has provided advice and information on the services of The Hague’s Police in general, as well as on security related questions.
The Diplomatic Front Office maintains contacts with representatives of the diplomatic corps and international organizations. The office’s employees can answer specific questions in the field of security, guarding and prevention, as well as a number of other issues. Besides acting as a liaison between the Police and the diplomatic community of The Hague, the office also maintains contacts with external partners such as the City Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the NCTV (National Coordinator on Counterterrorism and Security).
The Diplomatic Front Office uses factual information to inform and advice the diplomatic offices and international organization in the field of security measures. In order to be able to operate in an optimal way, actors such as the Police, the embassies and the International Organizations must exchange information in an appropriate manner.
The Diplomatic Front Office is based at the unit office of Burgemeester Patijnlaan, The Hague, and the department consists of four employees.
Frans Scholten has been working at the DFO for about 8 years as a liaison officer. He began his career with the police in 1983, and since then he has held various positions in the fields of surveillance, crisis and conflict management.
Edwin Verhage joined the police in 1981, working in the surveillance service. He then went on working at the DKDB and as a team leader in explosives exploration. He has been working at the DFO for 4 years as a liaison officer.
MauriceTholen begun his police career in 1999 with the Railway Police and later with the National Unit. He also worked as a team chief at the Department of Guard and Security and he is now a business supporter at DFO.
Rita Vuurens joined the Guard and Security Department in 1995, and she held various monitoring functions there. Within DFO she is often the first point of contact for all external partners, and she also performs a number of administrative tasks.
Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance
The police has various option to guard a building. The most visible method of monitoring is the “monitoring container”. The advantage of this method lies in its 24-hours-a-day activity, but the disadvantage is that the observation from the monitoring container is limited.
Another method is monitoring by means of Sharpened Driving supervision through an armoured vehicle, with the building being monitored at least twice per hour. This method allows for a much broader observation of the environment, but the observation is not permanent. Such observation is nevertheless carried out 24 hours a day.
There is also the possibility of monitoring a building using cameras. On the desk of the Department of Guard and Security, there is a monitoring centre, where images are viewed 24/7. Through this method, there is always a good image of the space around the building, without any police being on the site.
In addition to these monitoring measures, there is the Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance (DDS). The purpose of this form of surveillance is to supervise dynamically and unpredictably all diplomatic buildings within the scope of The Hague’s unit. The DDS can also give extra attention to specific temporary activities of an embassy or an International Organization.
The DDS is equipped with marked surveillance vehicles. These vehicles are different from the standard police cars as to their colour and stripes, and they display the text “Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance” underlining their special task.
The concept of the DDS includes DDS patrol units 24 hours per day. The DDS has been integrated into the Police Central Control Room system, and it can be deployed whenever a situation demands so. In certain circumstances, urgent help is not necessary, for instance regarding the security of a diplomatic mission or an international organization. For emergencies, the alarm number is 112.
The Diplomatic Front Office can be reached by telephone 24 hours a day. During office hours, one of the employees of the DFO will be present, while outside office hours the incoming call will be received by the Sharpened Driving supervision through an armoured vehicle, This person can also take the first steps in case of urgent matters.
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Photography by Remco Kuiper.
Ambassador Imtiaz Ahmed (Bangladesh) and President of BVMW Prof. Dr. h.c. Mario Ohoven – Picture by Embassy of Bangladesh to Germany.By H.E. Ambassador Imtiaz Ahmed, Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the Federal Republic of Germany.Women´s economic empowerment is an inevitable part of development discourse. Institutionalization of sustainable development process excluding women from the mainstream development programme is inconceivable and will not support sustainable economic growth. Existing sex ratio in the demographic structure of Bangladesh indicates that women comprise almost 50% of the total population and are an essential part of human resources. It is impossible to achieve the target of a poverty-free society without the participation of women in the mainstream economy. Considering the fact, even given the robust socio-economic development of Bangladesh; the Government of Bangladesh has given special emphasis with all stakeholders including development partners through different interventions to ensure increased women´s participation in the formal economic sector, especially in business and industry.As Germany is one of the most important and reliable development partners of Bangladesh, recently a delegation of Ministry of Commerce of Bangladesh led by Mr. Munir Chowdhury, Director General of WTO Cell of the Ministry visited Germany mid-December 2018 in order to discuss the development issues to enhance knowledge as well as sharing experiences focusing on cooperation from Germany on the SMEs and Women Entrepreneurship Development in Bangladesh.Commercial delegation of Bangladesh in Germany – Picture by Embassy of Bangladesh in Germany.The orientation, meeting arranged in different institutions yet the Federal Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Germany (BVMW) in particular enhanced the understanding of the challenges of women entrepreneurship development. The delegation has acquired first hand information on the state supports/incentives to women entrepreneurs, women networking on domestic and cross-border including business model, how SMEs work in Germany, etc.
The commercial delegation travelled to the Netherlands and Germany to explore two-way investments between the European countries and Bangladesh as the country keeps its record in economic growth. The latter being a pivotal factor for the landslide victory of sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed on 30 December 2018. Her party and its allies won almost all of the 300 parliamentary seats contested, in its best ever result.
By Corneliu Pivariu.Motto: “Tomorrow has long ago became yesterday” –folk verse
On 11th of November, 2018, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France delivered, at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, in front of more than 70 heads of state and government, a speech marking 100 years since the armistice which brought to an end the First World War and then, together with some of his counterparts,(one notable absence was the American president Donald Trump) and heads of international organisations (UN, UNESCO, OCDE, IMF, etc) signed a joint statement on the occasion of the first session of the Paris Peace Forum (a French initiative dated January, 2018, which seems of not enjoying too great an international attention).
The end of the First World War heralded some important developments such as the end of the European empires and the emergence of the Soviet Union, the United States of America’s joining the great global powers, which was a reference in the world history and which, nevertheless, contributed to triggering the Second World War. Despite the French president’s desire to offer a dovish image of the world, we noticed that the struggle for the world supremacy is underway and the developments of the last years proved us that nothing of what we considered to be the pillars of the post-Second World War is any longer guaranteed but, on the contrary, the danger of the Third World War’s breaking out is increasing.
President Macron stated in his 11th of November speech, inter alia, that “patriotism is exactly the opposite of nationalism”, a statement we find repeated and shared by many formations and personalities who are firm believers of globalism without frontiers and which, due to considerations we do not elaborate on here, we think it is a forced one. At the same time, we mention here the speech of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Brussels, on 4th of December, at the German Marshall Fund, entitled ”Restoring the Role of the Nation-state within the International Liberal Order”.
In fact, the current leaders of the democratic world are not feeling well in their positions, the president Macron is confronted with a vehement opposition concealed behind the yellow waistcoats which is an uprising against globalism and against not caring at all about the situation of those with small and medium incomes, Donald Trump is further confronted with a strong political opposition backed by a great part of the American media, Angela Merkel will pass the hat after almost two decades of leading Germany, Theresa May is not feeling well either in Great Britain and the European Union’s leadership in Brussels do not succeed in finding viable and pragmatic solutions to the situation they are faced with.
The current situation is illustrated by a publicly issued map ever since the summer of 2014 (we remind that in 2006, an American researcher published a map of the New Middle East). Some of the important changes: the emergence of New Russia (with separatist regions Donetsk and Luhansk, all Ukraine’s south on the Black Sea and the Transnistrian region included); Poland’s amputation by Germany and the emergence of a new Galitia state (with territories taken over mainly from Poland and Ukraine); Belgium’s disappearance (Wallonia remaining only), while the Flemish region is included in The Netherlands; Italy is divided between North and South, the Basque Country and Catalunya emerge in Spain, the Greater Albania emerges as well, Turkey takes over part of South-East Bulgaria while Hungary takes part of Western Romania (Banat and part of Transylvania).
These would be some of the modifications liable to be visible yet we should not forget that globally the struggle for supremacy is waged between the states’ political and military power and the corporations’ political and economic power.
What is more worrying is the corporations’ long-term policy focussed on destroying the family’s, marriage and parenting traditional norms to the benefit of individual autonomy, of devising an egoistical identity and of a lifestyle excluding the familial commitments on a longer term. A detrimental option on a long run of those corporations.
The brightening future is not ours and it seems that tomorrow has long ago became yesterday. Nevertheless, we believe that it is up to us all to retrieve it and to find each other for avoiding a new catastrophic war.
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About the author:Corneliu Pivariu, former first deputy for military intelligence (two stars general) in the Romanian MoD, retired 2003. Member of IISS – London, alumni of Harvard – Kennedy School Executive Education and others international organizations. Founder of INGEPO Consulting, and bimonthly Bulletin, Geostrategic Pulse”. Main areas of expertise – geopolitics, intelligence and security.
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About the author:
Corneliu Pivariu. Photographer: Ionus Paraschiv.
Corneliu Pivariu Military Intelligence and International Relations Senior Expert
A highly decorated retired two-star general of the Romanian army, during two decades he has led one of the most influential magazines on geopolitics and international relations in Eastern Europe, the bilingual journal Geostrategic Pulse.
Frans Scholten has been working at the DFO for about 8 years as a liaison officer. He began his career with the police in 1983, and since then he has held various positions in the fields of surveillance, crisis and conflict management.
Edwin Verhage joined the police in 1981, working in the surveillance service. He then went on working at the DKDB and as a team leader in explosives exploration. He has been working at the DFO for 4 years as a liaison officer.
Maurice Tholen begun his police career in 1999 with the Railway Police and later with the National Unit. He also worked as a team chief at the Department of Guard and Security and he is now a business supporter at DFO.
Rita Vuurens joined the Guard and Security Department in 1995, and she held various monitoring functions there. Within DFO she is often the first point of contact for all external partners, and she also performs a number of administrative tasks.
Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance
The police has various option to guard a building. The most visible method of monitoring is the “monitoring container”. The advantage of this method lies in its 24-hours-a-day activity, but the disadvantage is that the observation from the monitoring container is limited.
Another method is monitoring by means of Sharpened Driving supervision through an armoured vehicle, with the building being monitored at least twice per hour. This method allows for a much broader observation of the environment, but the observation is not permanent. Such observation is nevertheless carried out 24 hours a day.
There is also the possibility of monitoring a building using cameras. On the desk of the Department of Guard and Security, there is a monitoring centre, where images are viewed 24/7. Through this method, there is always a good image of the space around the building, without any police being on the site.
In addition to these monitoring measures, there is the Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance (DDS). The purpose of this form of surveillance is to supervise dynamically and unpredictably all diplomatic buildings within the scope of The Hague’s unit. The DDS can also give extra attention to specific temporary activities of an embassy or an International Organization.
The DDS is equipped with marked surveillance vehicles. These vehicles are different from the standard police cars as to their colour and stripes, and they display the text “Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance” underlining their special task.
The concept of the DDS includes DDS patrol units 24 hours per day. The DDS has been integrated into the Police Central Control Room system, and it can be deployed whenever a situation demands so. In certain circumstances, urgent help is not necessary, for instance regarding the security of a diplomatic mission or an international organization. For emergencies, the alarm number is 112.
The Diplomatic Front Office can be reached by telephone 24 hours a day. During office hours, one of the employees of the DFO will be present, while outside office hours the incoming call will be received by the Sharpened Driving supervision through an armoured vehicle, This person can also take the first steps in case of urgent matters.
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Photography by Remco Kuiper. 
Frans Scholten has been working at the DFO for about 8 years as a liaison officer. He began his career with the police in 1983, and since then he has held various positions in the fields of surveillance, crisis and conflict management.
Edwin Verhage joined the police in 1981, working in the surveillance service. He then went on working at the DKDB and as a team leader in explosives exploration. He has been working at the DFO for 4 years as a liaison officer.
Maurice Tholen begun his police career in 1999 with the Railway Police and later with the National Unit. He also worked as a team chief at the Department of Guard and Security and he is now a business supporter at DFO.
Rita Vuurens joined the Guard and Security Department in 1995, and she held various monitoring functions there. Within DFO she is often the first point of contact for all external partners, and she also performs a number of administrative tasks.
Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance
The police has various option to guard a building. The most visible method of monitoring is the “monitoring container”. The advantage of this method lies in its 24-hours-a-day activity, but the disadvantage is that the observation from the monitoring container is limited.
Another method is monitoring by means of Sharpened Driving supervision through an armoured vehicle, with the building being monitored at least twice per hour. This method allows for a much broader observation of the environment, but the observation is not permanent. Such observation is nevertheless carried out 24 hours a day.
There is also the possibility of monitoring a building using cameras. On the desk of the Department of Guard and Security, there is a monitoring centre, where images are viewed 24/7. Through this method, there is always a good image of the space around the building, without any police being on the site.
In addition to these monitoring measures, there is the Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance (DDS). The purpose of this form of surveillance is to supervise dynamically and unpredictably all diplomatic buildings within the scope of The Hague’s unit. The DDS can also give extra attention to specific temporary activities of an embassy or an International Organization.
The DDS is equipped with marked surveillance vehicles. These vehicles are different from the standard police cars as to their colour and stripes, and they display the text “Dynamic Diplomatic Surveillance” underlining their special task.
The concept of the DDS includes DDS patrol units 24 hours per day. The DDS has been integrated into the Police Central Control Room system, and it can be deployed whenever a situation demands so. In certain circumstances, urgent help is not necessary, for instance regarding the security of a diplomatic mission or an international organization. For emergencies, the alarm number is 112.
The Diplomatic Front Office can be reached by telephone 24 hours a day. During office hours, one of the employees of the DFO will be present, while outside office hours the incoming call will be received by the Sharpened Driving supervision through an armoured vehicle, This person can also take the first steps in case of urgent matters.
