Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs

The FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation represents, defends and promotes the interests of Belgium and Belgians abroad, promotes the coherence of foreign action and coordinates Belgium's European policy as a federal country. The FPS Foreign Affairs strives for a safe, just and prosperous world.

The most important tasks of the FPS Foreign Affairs can be summarised as follows:

• the defence of Belgium's political, economic and legal interests;
• the protection of and assistance to Belgians abroad as well as assistance to the diplomatic/international corps based in Belgium;
• the preparation, coordination and monitoring of the Belgian European policy in all its facets;
• the defence of fundamental values such as democracy, human dignity, human rights, rule of law and gender equality;
• contributing to a peaceful and secure world by strengthening the multilateral system (the United Nations and similar) and the international legal order;
• contributing to an international society based on solidarity and to poverty reduction, including through targeted and sustainable development cooperation.

As a government organisation, the FPS Foreign Affairs aims to provide added value for Belgian and international society. It is:

• a customer-focused organisation that has regard to the needs of its users, both internally and externally;
• a modern, high-performance and efficient organisation that succeeds in achieving the objectives set quickly and efficiently;
• an attractive, dynamic and innovative employer, where employees are motivated to give the best of themselves on a daily basis because they have the necessary participation and responsibility, are supported in their development, can work in a pleasant and safe environment, and have opportunities to better reconcile their work and family life.

The FPS' concrete contribution to its mission is evident from a number of initiatives:

• Belgian diplomacy has often played a pioneering role in international disarmament agreements, such as the Ottawa Treaty of 1997[2] and the Oslo Convention of 2008.
• In 2010, Belgium held the presidency of the Council of the EU and the FPS Foreign Affairs was responsible for coordination. Our country made remarkable breakthroughs in specific areas, such as the European patent and the free trade agreement with South Korea. The next Belgian Presidency will take place during the first half of 2024.[3]
• Led by Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo, Belgium was one of the founding persons of the She Decides campaign, which stands up for women's rights, in particular sexual and reproductive rights. The Belgian, Dutch, Swedish and Danish governments organised a donor conference for the campaign in Brussels in March 2017. Since then, She Decides has grown into a global movement.[4]
• From 2019 to the end of 2020, Belgium was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. During the vote on the seat, Belgium received support from 181 countries, well over the necessary two-thirds majority. Belgium focuses on the themes of protection, prevention and efficiency.
• In November 2019, Belgium organised the largest Belgian trade mission to China ever. The mission was led by HRH Princess Astrid and came about through cooperation between the Foreign Trade Agency, the three regional institutions for foreign trade (Flanders Investment & Trade – FIT, hub.brussels and the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency - AWEX) and the FPS Foreign Affairs. 632 business people, academics and politicians took part in the trade mission.

• Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade: Sophie Wilmès (since 1 October 2020)
• Minister for Development Cooperation: Meryame Kitir (since 1 October 2020)

Sophie Wilmès, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions

Meryame Kitir, Minister of Development Cooperation, in charge of Major Cities

The central government is structured as follows:

• the Directorate General for Bilateral Affairs (DGB)
• the Directorate General for Consular Affairs (DGC)
• the Directorate General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD)
• the Directorate General for European Affairs and Coordination (DGE)
• the Directorate General for Legal Affairs (DGJ)
• the Directorate General for Multilateral Affairs and Globalisation (DGM)
• the Staff Directorate for Personnel and Organisational
• the Staff Directorate for Budget and Management Control
• the Staff Directorate for ICT
• the Protocol Directorate
• the Strategy & Communication Directorate

The organisation chart of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs

The Directorate General for Bilateral Affairs (DGB) defends Belgian interests in and in respect of other countries. It promotes bilaterally – from country to country – the ethical principles and social values of Belgium: democracy, welfare, human rights and respect for the dignity of the individual. It also has particular regard for supporting Belgian economic interests.

The Directorate General for Consular Affairs (DGC) supports and supervises the work of Belgian consular departments abroad. These sections:

• act as a town hall for Belgians living abroad with regard to matters of nationality, civil status, notarial deeds, legalisations, passports, identity cards and elections, among other things.
• assist compatriots in transit or in difficulty abroad: tourists, Belgians arrested abroad, child abductions, etc.
• issue a visa to foreigners who wish to reside or settle in Belgium.

The Directorate General for Consular Affairs also informs and assists individuals in Belgium on consular matters and is in permanent contact with the Belgian authorities responsible for these areas (Justice, Home Affairs, municipalities, regions and communities).

The Directorate General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD) is responsible for Belgian Development Cooperation and comes under the authority of the Minister for Development Cooperation.

The Belgian Development Cooperation strives for sustainable human development. It also aims to stimulate and strengthen the involvement of Belgian public opinion in North-South solidarity and development policy.

DGD develops a common vision on development cooperation through a dialogue with all government institutions that have an impact on development policy, with the development actors involved in the Belgian Development Cooperation (NGOs, scientific institutions, etc.) and with the European and international institutions. DGD translates this vision into a number of priorities for the central government and the field. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) play a central role in this.

The Directorate General for European Affairs and Coordination is responsible for preparing, defining, representing, managing and monitoring Belgian policy on Europe. With the increasing integration of Europe and the increased role of the EU internationally, DGE's mission is growing in importance.

The DGE is at the heart of the Belgian decision-making process, in consultation with the federal institutions and the regional and community authorities, so that Belgium can speak with one voice on the European stage.

The Directorate General for Legal Affairs (DGJ) has a general advisory role for all areas of law related to the activities of the FPS: public international law, European law, consular law, administrative law, employment contract law, etc. It is also responsible for the management of the FPS' activities.

The DGJ also defends Belgium in international courts, the jurisdictions of the European Union and the European Economic Area, as well as the Belgian courts, in disputes to which the FPS Foreign Affairs is a party.

Finally, the DGJ plays a key role in relation to treaties, which are by definition international, both during the negotiation and signature process and during the approval procedure by the various Parliaments.

The Directorate General for Multilateral Affairs and Globalisation (DGM) is responsible for promoting and defending Belgium's foreign policy on multilateral issues and the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It is responsible for issues such as human rights, disarmament and non-proliferation, and environment and climate, among other things.

The DGM is also responsible for maintaining the coherence of Belgium's multilateral policy through consultation with other federal bodies, the regions and communities and civil society organisations.

The central government is supported by a worldwide, distributed diplomatic network of 118 posts. In 2020, Belgium has:

• 84 embassies
• 17 consultates-general
• 3 consulates
• 3 diplomatic offices
• 1 Belgian office (in Taipei)

8 permanent representations to international organisations

Moreover, Belgium has more than 300 honorary consulates, spread all over the world.

In June 2020, the FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation employed 2,909 people. Of these, about 40% are staff at the central government and 60% are staff at the posts (expatriate agents on foreign career paths, expatriate contractors and locally recruited contractors). 50 FPS staff members are in the ‘special situation’ category, due to secondment to an international institution or leave on assignment.

• Contributing to a strong European Union is the best guarantee for the prosperity and security of Belgium;
• Making the best use of our diplomacy to defend Belgium's economic interests;
• Working for peace and security at all levels – from country to country and through international institutions – along with Defence, Development Cooperation and Justice. Particular attention is paid to conflict prevention, management and mediation, disarmament, the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and the fight against fraud and human trafficking;
• Defending our values and principles of international solidarity: human rights and the rule of law (children, gender equality, the fight against all forms of discrimination, abolition of the death penalty, etc.), solidarity with Central Africa, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (health, climate, biodiversity, etc.) and the European Green Deal, etc.
• Modernising services for Belgian citizens abroad: digitalisation (e-Consul, electronic voting, etc.), crisis centre, Travellers Online, etc.
• Optimising the department in terms of operation, sustainability, communication, foreign careers, etc.

• Making the eradication of extreme poverty central (through the formalisation of employment, basic health care, food security, social protection, clean water and sanitation, etc.)
• Fighting inequality (gender equality, inclusive growth, tax collection, etc.)
• Combatting climate change and environmental degradation (climate financing, etc.)
• Addressing root causes of fragility (human rights, anti-corruption, rule of law, etc.)
• Encouraging a private sector that creates decent work (including through the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), the Business Partnership Facility and sustainable supply chains);
• Creating support among Belgians (world citizenship, etc.);
• Streamlining human mobility and providing protection (high-quality reception and protection of refugees in conflict zones, etc.).

You can also have a look at the policy declaration and policy note of Minister Wilmès and at the policy declaration and policy note of Minister Kitir (only in Dutch and French).