In a recent article published by “ La Libre Belgique”, the US Ambassador to Belgium praises Wallonia’s economic policy.

When he meets with representatives of Wallonia’s economy, Howard Gutman, the US Ambassador to Belgium is full of praise for the Southern part of the country. In his opinion, the way Wallonia is shaking up its economy is a step in the right direction. The Ambassador, who was nominated by President Obama in 2009, also has only a few negative comments.

Following H.E. Gutman, like Belgium and Wallonia, the US has gone through an economic crisis on two levels.
….First, we all know the challenge to switch from the old industry, based on coal and steel, to a new ‘Green Economy’, based on modern technologies. It is true for Pittsburg and New York, and it is also true in Charleroi and in Mons. The second challenge that we all have to face is the financial crisis which started two years ago. To face all this, we need leaders who are focusing on the future. In the US, President Obama is focusing on a green economy and on rebuilding the economic infrastructure. We see the same thing in Wallonia. I see signs of this everywhere.

For example, H.Gutman is thinking of the Marshall Plan 2. Green. Rudy Demotte and all the government team understand this. And so does Elio Di Rupo, in charge to negociate the setting up of a new federal government.
Every time I meet with them, said Gutman, we talk about employment. We talk about the new economy. This policy certainly generates results for Wallonia: Microsoft opened a center in Mons. Google has also chosen Mons for its database center. I am thinking of the recent expansion of Caterpillar. I am thinking of Johnson & Johnson and Baxter. In terms of logistics, qualified workforce, density of resources, Belgium is doing well, and so is Wallonia.

Rebuilding the economy is the core of the Marshall Plan 2. Green. The plan aims at turning Wallonia toward a green economy and toward private investments with the help of incentives.

Some negative points :

You can always do better, whether it is in the US, in Belgium in general or in Wallonia. For example, some American companies based in Courtrai have complained that they cannot fill their job offers. Yet, there is unemployment in Tournai…. and Courtrai is located 15 minutes away from Tournai. If we manage to make this link between Tournai and Courtrai, it is to everyone’s advantage.
Ambassador Gutman spoke to Rudy Demotte about this problem.
In addition, in Wallonia, there are not enough job offers for unskilled workers, and the immigrant workforce doesn’t have the necessary skills. Ambassador Gutman had his first job when he was 16, washing dishes in a restaurant. It is hard to do the same job in Belgium because there isn’t much hiring of unskilled workers.

Wallonia, Flanders and Belgium are moving in the right direction. Just look at the projections in terms of growth compared with the rest of Europe! The result is excellent. Belgian economy is strong. People might get the wrong information and think that there is no government in Belgium. There are even several governments, regional governments in particular.
So, Belgium is politically stable and the country functions well. There are political differences in every country. It is part of the inefficiency inherent to every democracy. But the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. China functions in a very efficient way, but over there, the ‘Tea Party’ would be silent.