Figure for September 2026: 9,810 diplomatic bags sent in 2025

In 2025, our dispatch service sent 6,820 diplomatic bags to our posts – embassies and consulates – abroad. A total of almost 51,000 kilos! Our posts sent 2,990 diplomatic bags back to Brussels. This brings the total number of diplomatic bags in 2025 to 9,810.

The diplomatic bag, also known as a diplomatic pouch or diplomatic case, may well be shrouded in an air of mystery for some. After all, surely they’re top-secret shipments for our diplomats abroad?
 

Vienna Convention

It is true that we do not disclose the contents of our diplomatic bags, but essentially, they are simply used to exchange documents and materials between our Central Administration in Brussels and our 115 posts – embassies and consulates – abroad.

And these shipments are subject to strict rules. Not just anything can be sent by diplomatic bag. Both international and national regulations impose restrictions on what can be sent.

Valuable items, such as works of art, gold, or money, for example, are not permitted. Perishable food, flammable products (fireworks, for example), liquids (jam, chocolate spread, etc.), weapons, batteries and so on are also not permitted in a diplomatic bag. Our dispatch service closely monitors this, including by using a scanner.

Furthermore, the contents of a diplomatic bag are indeed strictly secret, meaning that even the local customs authorities are not allowed to inspect the bag. This is clearly stipulated in the Vienna Convention. The treaty provides an international framework that enables diplomatic missions to operate smoothly anywhere in the world.
 

Customers outside our FPS

But we can lift the veil of secrecy a little. Diplomatic bags mainly carry ICT equipment, passports, identity cards with their printed codes, letters of credence, gifts for official contacts, consular documents, and other documents. Sometimes, these can also be hard-to-obtain spare parts, such as a wheel for an official vehicle.

Other institutions outside our FPS, which often have representatives abroad, also make use of the diplomatic bag. In 2025, the top five ‘customers’ outside our FPS were: (1) the French-speaking foreign affairs agency WBI, (2) Defence, (3) the Flemish trade agency FIT, (4) our development agency Enabel, and (5) the Foreign Trade Agency. The Walloon trade agency AWEX, the Federal Police, the FPS Justice, and even universities also occasionally send items by diplomatic bag.
 

Unique seal

The diplomatic bags vary greatly in size. It is often a relatively small blue bag or pouch, but it can just as easily be a large box or even a pallet. The crucial thing is that every ‘bag’ is clearly marked as an official diplomatic bag. This allows customs authorities to immediately identify it.

Each bag is also sealed with a unique seal attached to a steel wire. If the bag were to be opened in transit, our embassy or consulate would easily be able to see this. In addition, our dispatch service carefully records the contents so that our post can check upon arrival that everything is still there.

Pallets

Around seven people work every day to ensure that all these shipments are handled smoothly. They receive the materials to be sent from the various departments and institutions, check, register, package and seal them… 85 posts receive a shipment every week, while the remaining 30 are served twice a week. The latter include for instanve Istanbul, Kinshasa, Paris, Marseille, London, and Los Angeles.

Large shipments, such as pallets, are handled outside the regular delivery schedule. Last year, we shipped a total of 340 pallets. All in all, our dispatch service sent 6,820 diplomatic bags to our posts in 2025. That’s a total of almost 51,000 kilos!

Our posts also send diplomatic bags back to Brussels. Last year, that figure was 2,990. This brings the total number of diplomatic bags in 2025 to 9,810.
 

Digitalisation

The transportation itself is handled by an external transport company. Every five years, we launch a public tender to select the company offering the best value for money. The current company has a contract running from 2024 to 2029.

The diplomatic bag therefore plays an important role in our day-to-day operations. Because we have posts all over the world, we need an internationally recognised system that allows us to send materials quickly and efficiently without other countries being able to access their contents.

And anyone who thought that digitalisation would mean that less would be sent than in the past is mistaken. There may be fewer registered consignments, but even in the digital age, we still need to send physical, tangible items. So there is certainly still plenty of work for our colleagues who are responsible for getting all that material where it needs to go!