Edmond de Wilde has been a Belgian ambassador for 33 years and has worked in Africa, Malaysia, Japan, Australia and Finland. For the last two years he has been in Bulgaria and this will be his last posting before he retires from the world of diplomacy.

He admitted he is no longer young and that the most difficult part of the job in recent years has been adapting to different climates. "I don't find it difficult to adapt to people," he said. "When it comes down to the basics we are all the same regardless of colour or religion but in some countries the climate can be quite hard." Bulgaria is uncomfortably hot at the moment but for de Wilde it's a welcome relief after four long Finnish winters. His age has also affected his eating habits. "Cuisine is a problem for me in all countries because I'm not allowed to eat what I want," he said, though he usually eats Bulgarian food. "I like the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables here, they know how to prepare them well."

His role as ambassador covers the improvement of bilateral relations and helping the Belgian and Bulgarian business communities to work together. "It is all about friendship," he said. "Diplomacy is meant to be the expression of friendship."

Belgium's EU presidency (July to December 2001) has brought him a little extra work. "It's not very hectic for me, I am involved in the same areas as before but with a larger scope. It is more multi-lateral - I am a representative of many countries as well as one country. There is a heavier workload but nowhere near as much as for the Belgian foreign ministry."

It also gives him a higher profile in Bulgaria. From September the embassy will organize various cultural exhibitions from the Flemish and French-speaking Belgian communities. "We do this anyway but given the media society we live in we can't avoid using the presidency as publicity," he said. "We don't make big shows but we let people know how and who we are."

As Bulgaria moves closer to EU membership the opportunities for business are increasing. "Bulgaria has been improving over the last few years and now is accelerating in the right and good direction," said de Wilde. So far the new government has impressed him. "They have more experience in international business relations and are an added value to what already existed."

He does see one large handicap: "the mentality." According to the ambassador, Bulgarians have not yet adopted the new mentality necessary for a new, western type of society. "Individuals must know that they have to behave correctly within society. They must take up their individual responsibilities and stop thinking that the government is responsible for them."

He sees corruption as a key area that needs to be tackled although acknowledges that it exists in the west. "Where there is money and power you will find corruption," he said. For him the problem in Bulgaria is the widespread mentality that says it's okay to steal as long as you're not caught. "I would like there to be a higher morality in general," he said. "If the morality does not improve it will be hard to fight.

"If you are not blind, corruption is something that you feel or see here at least tentatively," he said and added that people have attempted to bribe him more than once. "I understand this, if a whole society is like this it feels less unusual, but although I understand I don't think we can accept it."

De Wilde studied economics at university and business is his main interest as ambassador. "When I talk business I think culture," he said. He sees culture as a reward for successful business activities. "A country needs to grow economically and socially before it can produce really good culture. You produce things, you trade them, and your reward is culture."

Though numerically the Belgian business community here is small it is relatively important and makes a sizeable contribution to the economy. There are Belgian multinationals present in Bulgaria such as Interbrew (owner of Stella Artois) which owns Kamenitsa, Astika, Bourgas and Pleven beers, but the most significant contribution comes from small and medium sized companies. De Wilde observed that Belgium and Bulgaria have a similar micro-economic structure. "If you look at the production and employment power of small and medium sized companies in Belgium (which produce 60-70 per cent of Belgium's GDP) then you have quite a mirror picture of Bulgaria's potential."

For de Wilde one of the achievements of his time here is that more Belgian family-sized businesses have set up in Bulgaria. "We have concentrated on small and medium-sized companies," he said. "They are of key importance in the economic and social development of Bulgaria as they create more jobs than multinationals."

He will be retiring within the next two years but has no fixed plans for the future. "I will certainly not die from inactivity," he said. "I have liked what I've done and will certainly like what I'll do, though at the moment I'm not occupied with making plans for it." He intends to settle in Belgium where he will spend more time with his children and grandchildren. There are still many countries he would like to visit, though now he will travel in "a more organized way. I can no longer travel with a tent like I did when I was a student - I'm afraid that I've become a victim of comforts," he laughed.