Belgium’s Ambassador Johan Verbeke is a distinguished diplomat with vast experience in different roles in some of the toughest places of duty. He has a pragmatic world view which seeks win-win situations in trade and diplomacy.
His career began with Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981. He worked at the Belgian Embassy in Beirut, followed by assignments in Amman, Bujumbura, and Santiago de Chile.
In 1992, he became the Chief Spokesperson at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later served as the “Antici” in the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the European Union (EU).
H.E. Johan Verbeke also served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Belgium in Washington, in an earlier assignment in 1994. Later, he served as Deputy Director General for Political Affairs (1998-99), and as Director General for European Affairs (1999-2000), Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of European Affairs (2000-02) and then as Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (2002-04).
In 2004, Ambassador Verbeke was appointed Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York where Belgium was a Member of the Security Council. In 2008 he moved to Lebanon as the Special Coordinator of the UN Secretary General. Later that year he was appointed the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Georgia and Head of UNOMIG.
Ambassador Verbeke was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2010, where he served until December 2013. He received the “Best Ambassador of the year 2011” DIPLOMAT award in recognition of his significant impact on the diplomatic community in London.
He began his current appointment as Ambassador to the United States in January 2014, and presented his credentials to President Barack H. Obama on March 10, 2014. Diplomatic Courier had the opportunity to recently sit down with the ambassador for an exclusive interview.
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[Diplomatic Courier:] A Prime Minister has been sworn in Belgium. What are the goals of the new government? What challenges it faces and how does it plan to address them?
[Johan Verbeke:] The new government is a Center-Right Coalition. It comes at an opportune time given the challenges we have to face in the Eurozone. We feel that this is a strong government which provides (a) coherence under a pluralistic vision and (b) the prospect of tenure of five years without intermediate elections at the regional and municipal levels. I think we can look forward to sound governance and that is a positive thing for the Belgian people and our allies as well as trading partners.
[DC:] How will the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) impact Belgium and the relations with United States?
[JV:] You know, Ernst & Young has rated Belgium as one of the most open economies in the world. You see, Antwerp is the Gateway to Europe with its location facilitating inland connections by railway, roads and waterways to the whole of Europe. Within a radius of 250 kilometers with high density population we are close to the major capitals in Europe, such as Paris and London, reaching about 300 million people. As exports account for about 85 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP), we think TTIP will be very beneficial to Belgium’s worldwide trade. Belgium is among the top 10 trading partners of the U.S. and we see a win-win under TTIP.
[DC:] How is Belgium addressing the challenges of Globalization? And how is the multicultural experience working out for Belgium?
[JV:] Globalization is a reality, in this interconnected world. Now especially in the 21st century, we cannot close our eyes and our borders. We think Belgium is a melting pot like the U.S., but in a different way. Take for example, Gareth Harding’s May 24, 2014 story in Politico - “Welcome to Brussels, Mr. President -The world’s second-most powerful capital has moved way beyond waffles and frites.” You know, President Obama has been to Belgium twice recently. With the EU and NATO headquarters—Brussels has become a truly cosmopolitan city and we celebrate our multicultural identity. Anyone, who has visited Brussels probably, feels the same way. Multilingualism is a strong asset of Belgium.
[DC:] ISIS and Islamic militancy has become a destabilizing factor. How is Belgium impacted—in terms of the society and its relations with U.S., EU, and the Middle-Eastern Countries?
[JV:] Youth radicalization and Islamic militancy is of course a serious concern to us and so we are working with our allies to counter this threat. A large number of these extremists are fighting in Syria. Our concern is that the youth from Europe are being exploited in this fight. But, we have an intensive program to deal with this situation at home. We are engaging the local imams to stem the flow of foreign fighters. And, yes, we will enforce the laws taking judicial action where required.
[DC:] What are the environmental challenges faced by Belgium? How are these challenges being addressed?
[JV:] Since Belgium is very densely populated and a large part is developed, we are very conscious of the environmental constraints and given our small size (and the huge transit traffic, air/water pollution from abroad) also very aware this is a challenge to be tackled globally. We are a strong believer and active negotiator for a global climate deal and are working hard to implement reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through domestic policies like energy efficiency in homes, taxes on vehicle emissions and other measures. Besides government policies, it is also important to have the private sector on board and promote eco-entrepreneurship as a win/win (decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth). A good example of this is Umicore, which is a world leader in recycling and reuse of secondary materials. Also the Belgian know-how in offshore wind farms could be pointed out in that regard.
[DC:] There is much talk about the New Silk Road. What interest, if any, Belgium has in the New Silk Road?
[JV:] In this era of globalization, Belgium cannot ignore the world at large. Feasibility studies on linking Chunking, China with Antwerp are underway. This can potentially reduce the time of transport by railroad (21 to 33 days) compared to shipping (40 days), so there could be huge benefits and cost savings for our trading partners.
[DC:] How would you describe Belgium’s relations with China?
[JV:] Recently, President Xi Jinping made a four day official visit to Belgium and one should note a symbolically significant gesture that China has given us two pandas for fifteen years. So these are indicators of good relations with China where we are also making large foreign direct investments. We see rising income levels in China—as well as other developing countries—as a positive thing.
[DC:] How would you describe the relations with Russia in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis?
[JV:] Being on the European continent, we consider Russia as a neighbor. Sure, we are very disappointed by Russian annexation of Crimea and maintaining instability in Ukraine because such behavior blatantly infringes upon the rule-based understanding we thought we had in this post-Soviet era. So the sanctions are “measures” to change the behavior to get back to normality. We feel—like the U.S.—that if the Minsk agreement is fully implemented sanctions against Russia could be lifted.
[DC:] How would you describe Belgium’s relations with India and Pakistan?
[JV:] With India, we have intensive trade relations, a large part due to the diamond trade. Antwerp is considered the World Capital of Diamond Trade. With respect to Pakistan, Belgium is the sixth largest trading partner amongst the EU countries. Like with China, we aim for strong relations with all countries in the region as rising income levels in that part of the world are a win-win situation.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre
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Interview: Johan Verbeke, Ambassador of Belgium to the United States
December 9, 2014
Belgium’s Ambassador Johan Verbeke is a distinguished diplomat with vast experience in different roles in some of the toughest places of duty. He has a pragmatic world view which seeks win-win situations in trade and diplomacy.
His career began with Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981. He worked at the Belgian Embassy in Beirut, followed by assignments in Amman, Bujumbura, and Santiago de Chile.
In 1992, he became the Chief Spokesperson at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later served as the “Antici” in the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the European Union (EU).
H.E. Johan Verbeke also served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Belgium in Washington, in an earlier assignment in 1994. Later, he served as Deputy Director General for Political Affairs (1998-99), and as Director General for European Affairs (1999-2000), Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of European Affairs (2000-02) and then as Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (2002-04).
In 2004, Ambassador Verbeke was appointed Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York where Belgium was a Member of the Security Council. In 2008 he moved to Lebanon as the Special Coordinator of the UN Secretary General. Later that year he was appointed the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Georgia and Head of UNOMIG.
Ambassador Verbeke was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2010, where he served until December 2013. He received the “Best Ambassador of the year 2011” DIPLOMAT award in recognition of his significant impact on the diplomatic community in London.
He began his current appointment as Ambassador to the United States in January 2014, and presented his credentials to President Barack H. Obama on March 10, 2014. Diplomatic Courier had the opportunity to recently sit down with the ambassador for an exclusive interview.
***
[Diplomatic Courier:] A Prime Minister has been sworn in Belgium. What are the goals of the new government? What challenges it faces and how does it plan to address them?
[Johan Verbeke:] The new government is a Center-Right Coalition. It comes at an opportune time given the challenges we have to face in the Eurozone. We feel that this is a strong government which provides (a) coherence under a pluralistic vision and (b) the prospect of tenure of five years without intermediate elections at the regional and municipal levels. I think we can look forward to sound governance and that is a positive thing for the Belgian people and our allies as well as trading partners.
[DC:] How will the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) impact Belgium and the relations with United States?
[JV:] You know, Ernst & Young has rated Belgium as one of the most open economies in the world. You see, Antwerp is the Gateway to Europe with its location facilitating inland connections by railway, roads and waterways to the whole of Europe. Within a radius of 250 kilometers with high density population we are close to the major capitals in Europe, such as Paris and London, reaching about 300 million people. As exports account for about 85 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP), we think TTIP will be very beneficial to Belgium’s worldwide trade. Belgium is among the top 10 trading partners of the U.S. and we see a win-win under TTIP.
[DC:] How is Belgium addressing the challenges of Globalization? And how is the multicultural experience working out for Belgium?
[JV:] Globalization is a reality, in this interconnected world. Now especially in the 21st century, we cannot close our eyes and our borders. We think Belgium is a melting pot like the U.S., but in a different way. Take for example, Gareth Harding’s May 24, 2014 story in Politico - “Welcome to Brussels, Mr. President -The world’s second-most powerful capital has moved way beyond waffles and frites.” You know, President Obama has been to Belgium twice recently. With the EU and NATO headquarters—Brussels has become a truly cosmopolitan city and we celebrate our multicultural identity. Anyone, who has visited Brussels probably, feels the same way. Multilingualism is a strong asset of Belgium.
[DC:] ISIS and Islamic militancy has become a destabilizing factor. How is Belgium impacted—in terms of the society and its relations with U.S., EU, and the Middle-Eastern Countries?
[JV:] Youth radicalization and Islamic militancy is of course a serious concern to us and so we are working with our allies to counter this threat. A large number of these extremists are fighting in Syria. Our concern is that the youth from Europe are being exploited in this fight. But, we have an intensive program to deal with this situation at home. We are engaging the local imams to stem the flow of foreign fighters. And, yes, we will enforce the laws taking judicial action where required.
[DC:] What are the environmental challenges faced by Belgium? How are these challenges being addressed?
[JV:] Since Belgium is very densely populated and a large part is developed, we are very conscious of the environmental constraints and given our small size (and the huge transit traffic, air/water pollution from abroad) also very aware this is a challenge to be tackled globally. We are a strong believer and active negotiator for a global climate deal and are working hard to implement reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through domestic policies like energy efficiency in homes, taxes on vehicle emissions and other measures. Besides government policies, it is also important to have the private sector on board and promote eco-entrepreneurship as a win/win (decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth). A good example of this is Umicore, which is a world leader in recycling and reuse of secondary materials. Also the Belgian know-how in offshore wind farms could be pointed out in that regard.
[DC:] There is much talk about the New Silk Road. What interest, if any, Belgium has in the New Silk Road?
[JV:] In this era of globalization, Belgium cannot ignore the world at large. Feasibility studies on linking Chunking, China with Antwerp are underway. This can potentially reduce the time of transport by railroad (21 to 33 days) compared to shipping (40 days), so there could be huge benefits and cost savings for our trading partners.
[DC:] How would you describe Belgium’s relations with China?
[JV:] Recently, President Xi Jinping made a four day official visit to Belgium and one should note a symbolically significant gesture that China has given us two pandas for fifteen years. So these are indicators of good relations with China where we are also making large foreign direct investments. We see rising income levels in China—as well as other developing countries—as a positive thing.
[DC:] How would you describe the relations with Russia in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis?
[JV:] Being on the European continent, we consider Russia as a neighbor. Sure, we are very disappointed by Russian annexation of Crimea and maintaining instability in Ukraine because such behavior blatantly infringes upon the rule-based understanding we thought we had in this post-Soviet era. So the sanctions are “measures” to change the behavior to get back to normality. We feel—like the U.S.—that if the Minsk agreement is fully implemented sanctions against Russia could be lifted.
[DC:] How would you describe Belgium’s relations with India and Pakistan?
[JV:] With India, we have intensive trade relations, a large part due to the diamond trade. Antwerp is considered the World Capital of Diamond Trade. With respect to Pakistan, Belgium is the sixth largest trading partner amongst the EU countries. Like with China, we aim for strong relations with all countries in the region as rising income levels in that part of the world are a win-win situation.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre
