At first glance, Belgian ambassador Philippe Beke may not have much in common with Indiana Jones, the action hero he prefers over Batman no less, but that is only on the surface. For the seasoned diplomat is an action figure in his own merits.

A character review:

Beke likes Indy for three main reasons:

 - He is “a man who knows how to communicate with the rest of the world”. So does Beke. After having gone through tough negotiations arguing the need for enlargement of the European Union in the period 2000 to 2003, which concerned Bulgaria as one of the 12 candidate countries, Beke sure knows how to communicate with the rest of the world.

 - He “discovers many interesting things that existed in the past”. Well, here comes the slight difference - the ambassador has an eye set on the future. With the infallible flair for what is destined to success and with numerous initiatives orchestrated under his watch, Beke has brought the presence of Belgium in Bulgaria to new heights.

- Because he is always involved in “adventurous stories and is a fascinating person”. An ambassador’s mandate in Bulgaria seems to be adventurous enough, actively participating in the transitional changes the country is going through, as well as witnessing positive outcomes, the result of collective force of character and hard work. And fascinating he is. Although the “iron-man” diplomat he depicts, he has a soft spot for poetry, possessing enough sensitivity to hear its hidden melody.

What both characters undeniably share is a wicked sense of humour, saying funny things while looking threateningly serious. But instead of throwing punches, like Indy would end up doing all too often, Beke will burst into contagious laughter, which, at times, seems to be his wise approach to some of the oddities he has encountered in Bulgaria.

At the end of his term in Sofia, the ambassador is ready to share a few examples. Back in the early days of negotiations, he was “taken aback by the heavy bureaucratic machine that suffocated the country”.

“We found out that when questions arose, the most acceptable way of communicating here, was to wait for someone to go and ask their ‘chief’, taking forever to get an answer back,” Beke says. Then he chuckles while posting a rhetorical question: “Well, do you want to be a member of the EU or…what do you want?” The trend has changed, Beke says, and infers how important that is.

While trying to set a line between then and now, the diplomat continues with another story to exemplify how in a matter of four or five years, the attitudes have drastically changed, and the progress is visible with unaided eye.

In 2004, Beke was invited to give lectures to Sofia University law students on the enlargement of the union, what was expected of Bulgaria and what was Bulgaria to expect of the EU, respectively.

“All the questions I received made me think, ‘Oh my God…this is going to be difficult,’ because the students asked completely irrelevant things ranging from the Kozluduy nuclear power plant to the issue of the alternative formation to the Bulgarian Orthodox Holy Synod.” Beke says.

Three years later, he went back and lectured on the Lisbon treaty, and thought the students’ questions were truly superior. Beke was told that the young people were much better informed and were able to navigate through the EU structure and legislature.

“I believe that if you are about to get accepted in the union, you should at least find out something about its policies, and ask yourself, ‘What do I think is good for me?’ If you don’t know, here comes the negative attitude, populism rises and indifference settles,” the ambassador says. People are too quick to blame Brussels for everything, he adds.

But with an assuring waving gesture Beke continues. Since 2001 he could point out real changes that reflect the overall quality of life such as less unemployment, various advantages drawn from social policies as well as environmental issues that are consistently put on the table for discussion and solution.

The ambassador gives an example of what he calls “a Bulgaro-optimistic approach”, recognisable in a place such as the Black Sea city of Kavarna.

Compared with 2004, Kavarna today is a rock city, no дупки (holes) on the streets, nice shops around, new buildings everywhere and a very happy mayor,” he says.

“I feel that Bulgarian people really look for this quality of life. Being here for all of these years, I believe that this comfort, found in higher living standards or economic progress, make Bulgarians feel a bit relieved. Ok, it’s not the end of the road; it’s just the beginning, but you are on the right track,” Beke says while beginning to leaf through printed pages spread out on the coffee table in his office.

As if to back up what he is saying, Beke is preparing to cite some statistics specifically referring to Belgium investments in Bulgaria, which seem to take a significant part in pulling the country’s economy forward.

“Belgium is the fifth country to which Bulgaria is importing, considering the amount of import volume,” Beke says. “For 2008, the trade between Belgium and Bulgaria will amount to 1.5 billion euro, which is double than it was in 2003.”

The ambassador explains, not without a flame of pride flickering in his eyes, that at the time of his arrival there were 18 Belgian companies operating in Bulgaria. Today there are 86 and more than 20 000 people are employed there.

“We have some very big players in the banking and chemical industry, in the food business and electronics,” Beke says. About 10 years ago, a Belgian group started production in the city of Botevgrad, near Sofia, with a total 100 staff. Now they have three factories and 2600 staff.

Not to mention the considerably large beer production concentrated in Plovdiv. The Bulgarian brand Kamenitza, owned by Belgian group InBev, is now available in Macedonia together with another brand of the company, Stella Artois.

Beke fervently explains that until only four years ago, when he visited the CEO of Electrabel, a Belgian electricity giant, and asked whether they would ever consider Bulgaria as a business interest, the chief executive replied “No”.

“Bulgaria, simply, was not enough on the map,” Beke says and adds that Electrabel now displays great interest toward Bulgaria.

While doing some name-dropping of various Belgian companies in Bulgaria, the ambassador suddenly mentions that he often gets asked about organised crime.

“Well, that is why we created the Belgian Business Club, so we could create a good working network and avoid shady businessmen,” Beke says and somewhat gives an answer whether he thinks there is an organised crime in Bulgaria or not.

The ambassador does not appear to be concerned with organised crime being a potential spoiler of Bulgarian-Belgian business relationships, however. Going back to the not-so-distant past, one could see that Belgium was one of the first foreign investors in Bulgaria, starting in the years before World War 1, Beke says. Belgian was the first sugar company in the country, also the first electricity producing company in Sofia and more. But, of course, nothing has survived today with the exception of the tramway, which was also laid out with Belgian help.

With the mentioning of the tramway, Beke’s face appears illuminated by some inner excitement. It is the story of the Poetry on the Wall project. The stances of Le Passage des anges by the renowned poet Odilon-Jean Perier, written out here in French and Dutch, adorn a wall on 6 Vitosha Blvd. For the opening in 2005, Beke says that the embassy rented out one of the remaining historic tramcars dating back from 1903.

“I am very proud. It is wonderful to see people pass by and take the time to stop and look at it,” the ambassador says.

He also goes on to explain that specially commissioned works by Bulgarian poets who composed stances about Belgium, would be translated into French and Dutch.

Beke says that one of his favourite Bulgarian poets is Geo Milev (1895-1925), a vivid example of expressionism in the Bulgarian literature.

“Poetry should be all about music,” Beke says. “Even if you don’t understand the words, you should be hooked by the melody of it. A good poem can do that.”