FPS Foreign Affairs Belgium

The FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation ( _nl. FOD Buitenlandse Zaken, Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingssamenwerking, _fr. SPF Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au Développement, _de. FÖD Auswärtige Angelegenheiten, Außenhandel und Entwicklungszusammenarbeit), more commonly known as the FPS Foreign Affairs, is a Federal Public Service of Belgium. It was created by Royal Order on March 8, 2002, as part of the plans of the first Verhofstadt Government to modernise the federal administration. The first Ministry of Foreign Affairs was created on February 25, 1831, during the Belgian Revolution.

The FPS Foreign Affairs is responsible for foreign policy and diplomacy and is occupied with the external relations of Belgium, including European cooperation and development cooperation. It maintains approximately 130 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions. On November 1, 2003, the FPS Foreign Affairs employed 3,441 people, including its employees abroad.

Ministers

Following the government reshuffle that took place after the 2007 federal election, the FPS Foreign Affairs is responsible to four ministers:
*Karel De Gucht (VLD), Minister of Foreign Affairs
*Didier Donfut (PS), Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health, entrusted with European Affairs
*Sabine Laruelle (MR), Minister for Middle Classes and Agriculture, entrusted with Development Cooperation
*Marc Verwilghen (VLD), Minister for Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade and Science Policy

Organisation

The FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation is organised into six Directorates-General:
*The Directorate-General for Bilateral Affairs
*The Directorate-General for Consular Affairs
*The Directorate-General for Development Cooperation
*The Directorate-General for European Affairs and Coordination
*The Directorate-General for Legal Affairs
*The Directorate-General for Multilateral Affairs and Mundialisation

ee also

*Foreign relations of Belgium
*Belgian diplomatic missions

External links

* [http://www.diplomatie.be/en Website of the FPS Foreign Affairs Belgium]
* [http://www.dgic.be/en Website of the Belgian Development Cooperation]