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Qatar tribune
Hungary and Switzerland embassies in Qatar recently hosted an afternoon tea get-together showcasing some of their leading brands of delicious and mouth watering chocolates. The event was held at Mondrian Hotel. A large number of members of the diplomatic community and dignitaries besides members of various communities living in Qatar attended the event.
Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador of Hungary to Qatar HE Fodor Barnabas said, “We wanted to showcase different types of culture. Hungary and Switzerland share the history of Djarbo Coffee House, which is a very old Hungarian brand founded 160 years ago in Budapest.”
Paying tributes to Swiss-born Emile Gerbo, the founder of the Coffee House, he said Gerbo developed and built this brand which has had a great influence in Hungarian confectionery industry and art. “Therefore, what we see today in Central Europe has a touch from Emile Gerbo.”
He said some major chocolate brands from Hungary as well as Switzerland are available in Qatar.  
The Ambassador of Switzerland to Qatar HE Edgar Doerig said it was a very good idea to bring the tradition of Charbio, the native of Geneva who immigrated to Budapest more than 100 years age. “It’ good to bring to Qatar and team up with our Hungarian friends. Hungarian traditional chocolate cakes and products are liked by Qataris and expatriates alike. It’s a wonderful venue at the Mondrian Hotel, sponsored by Qatar Airways. The Swiss embassy’s role has been to team up with our Hungarian friends to contact Swiss chocolate companies. I am happy to see such an amazing turnout at an afternoon event.”
With regard to the Swiss community’s socio-cultural activities, he said they would be orgainising some events later this year.
Meanwhile, talking to Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of the event, the Japanese Ambassador to Qatar HE Seiichi Otsuka lauded the hosts for organising such a unique event. He said chocolate is an item that almost everybody loves, adding, “The good thing in Doha is that we have choice of different brands of chocolate, which is great. It’s nice to see that Swiss and Hungarian colleagues are importing their products to Qatar. Japan also produces various kinds of chocolates.” 
Haruhi Otsuka, the wife of the Japanese envoy, said, “We Japanese ladies like chocolates a lot. Chocolates have been used as medicine for a long, long time. We take this as an excuse to munch on chocolates.”
 — Report by Ashraf Siddiqui
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16/05/2019
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