A memorable meeting at the Geneva Diplomatic Club with Mr. Lech Wałęsa, 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner, co-founder of the Solidarność movement, and former President of the Republic of Poland from 1990 to 1995. This meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views with a major historical figure in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Eastern Europe. A lesson that resonates all the more in light of the contemporary challenges facing democracy.

We gathered at an event organized by the Diplomatic Club in Geneva, which provided a valuable opportunity to review the Agency's program and strategic directions. In the coming months, we will significantly strengthen our action in the field of sport, which we consider, along with culture, to be a diplomatic tool of the highest order. Through its ability to transcend borders, bring people together, and convey universal values of respect, fair play, and solidarity, sport is a privileged vehicle for dialogue and mutual understanding on the international stage. This dimension will be at the heart of our future initiatives and partnerships.

Today we visited the Free University of Brussels to give a lecture on the mysteries of the Vatican. It was an opportunity to talk to an audience of students about the unique place of the Holy See in the concert of nations and the specificity of this small enclave state in the heart of Rome, which is both a spiritual power and a recognized diplomatic player on the international stage.

This meeting with the students has a special symbolic significance. It should be remembered that the Free University of Brussels was founded in 1834 by Freemasons and anti-clerical liberals, precisely to counterbalance the Catholic University of Louvain and promote the principles of “free thought.”