Sharp tongues might have criticised the slogan for not being a strong brand, but Peeters promotes it with everything he has and doesn’t leave an occasion unattended to get Flanders in the picture here in New York.

He does so with remarkable creativity. “As you can see, my region is represented by a lion,” he says whenever he presents a dignitary with a gift, wrapped up in Flemish paper. His jacket pin is a marriage of the stars and stripes and the Flemish lion – not the Belgian tricolour, as is the official one of this Belgian economic mission. Foreign trade is a regional responsibility within the federal system, and Peeters is determined to exploit it to the fullest.

It is one of Peeters’ top priorities to put Flanders on the map of global business. He is investing €165 million in foreign policy this year alone. He has been on economic missions to Chile, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, where he is often welcomed as nothing less than a head of state. Many countries seem curious to learn about rich and confident Flanders.

Not so in the US. American protocol treats Peeters as something like a governor. “It is difficult to explain our Copernican revolution [a shift of power to the regions],” says one Belgian diplomat. “The Americans just translate their federal structure to ours. Flanders is like California, but then smaller. If they’ve even heard of it. Most have never heard of Belgium. Our strongest brand is Brussels, by far.”

It is one of the reasons why Peeters for the first time decided to tag along with prince Philippe, who leads the Belgian Economic Mission to the US. The prince is supposed to open doors that would otherwise remain shut – like the doors of the White House, for example, where Peeters is meeting with vice-president Joe Biden. “I don’t care who opens the doors,” Peeters says, “as long as I get in.”

“Modesty gets you nowhere”

The US is important to Peeters. He was there in 2009 to cut the ribbon of the region’s new permanent representation, Flanders House, on the 44th floor of the prestigious New York Times Building. Rent: €50,000 per month. “You have to be able to impress,” says its director Kris Dierckx. “Otherwise, people here don’t take you seriously. Nobody knows us here. But we’re not going to change that by doing nothing. Americans like to see a winner’s mentality. Ambition. Modesty doesn’t get you anywhere here.”

Flanders House isn’t shy when it comes to ambition. It’s sponsoring a concert by top Flemish composer Dirk Brossé, a walking dinner and an early celebration of the Flemish community holiday (11 July). Three hundred lucky people are invited on a boat cruise on the Hudson River. West Flemish chef Vincent Florizoone has been flown in to cook; there are 16 different types of beer. The festivities make the state-like reception of the prince at the Waldorf Astoria look kind of dull. “This is the image of Flanders that I want to convey,” Peeters says. “Quality, professionalism, innovation, style, confidence.”

The biotechnology sector, for one, seems convinced. Peeters pays visits to pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, Roche and Johnson & Johnson, who all have large subsidiaries in Flanders. They all talk of Flanders Biotech, not of Belgium Biotech. Peeters charms them all with a gift from, yes, the interior design company Flamant.

A long way to go

Flanders is doing well and doesn’t mind showing off. Yet, compared to American standards, it has a long way to go, according to Christophe Vandaele from Bruges, who came to New York in 1994, flat broke. After sleeping in the streets for a time, he held down three different jobs at one time. Today, he manages an €80 million investment fund.

“I’ve been wanting to do business in Flanders for a long time,” he says, “but I don’t see any opportunities. Too many rules and regulations. And much too expensive. There’s no ‘can-do’ mentality. It takes 48 hours to open up a business in the States. It costs $1,050, to be exact. In Flanders, you’re discouraged before you begin. There’s no dynamism. That I think is a much bigger challenge to Flanders today than getting people to know the name of the region.”

Diplomats echo the frustrations voiced by Vandaele – off the record, of course. They aren’t diplomats for nothing. “The different services that Flanders needs to promote internationally work next to each other rather than with each other,” says one. “It’s tragic. …How can Flanders be big overseas if it only makes itself smaller by parcelling everything out?”