Diette-Belmontien meeting

[Serenierre]

Embassy of Belmont

The Foreign Minister had arrived earlier that morning in the capital of the Kingdom of Dietsland. Having recently taken over the portfolio, Henri Kouchner was rather horrified to note that many long time allies and partners had been neglected by the previous administration, which had been overly focused on domestic issues. The journey from the embassy to the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was short and the small motorcade of Belmontien sedans and Dietslander police vehicles zipped quickly along the avenues, disrupting very little traffic, if any.

Entering the office of his counterpart, Minister Kouchner shook the hand of the host vigorously and offered his personal condolences on the death of the Crown Prince. Despite being a fervent republican, Kouchner could see that the shock of the Dietslander people was very real. The crown prince was, at the end of the day, a young man whose life had been cut short. Following an exchange of pleasantries and polite smiles, the two ministers sat down at the corner table, facing each other, and Kouchner opened his briefcase and pulled out a dossier which contained a number of papers related to the areas he wanted to bring up.

[MENTION=1646]Dietsland[/MENTION]
{OOC: Just for the sake of everyone, we will say that this RP is occurring after the funeral}

 

[Avondland]

Ministry of State, Haraldsburh

The Minister of State, Tomas Kohlr, greeted the Belmontien representative with a warm smile and a fluent, if accented, greeting in French. Knowledge of foreign languages was common among the Dietslanders, although they rarely had the opportunity to practice. His smile faded at the mention of the crown prince's death, but was not shaken -- sliding into his ergonomic seat and retrieving a briefcase from below his desk. He kept his suit jacket buttoned -- a man of formality, as is customary in the nation -- and had a pin bearing the flag of Belmont affixed to his lapel. Reaching into a compartment of the desk, he withdrew a square-shaped bottle filled with golden-brown liquid -- presumably liquor -- and poured a thin portion into two small glasses, nudging one in the direction of his counterpart. Returning the bottle to the desk and neatly arranging a section of papers withdrawn from his briefcase, he turned his gaze to the Belmontien minister with an attentive glare.

 

[Serenierre]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Haraldsburh

Kouchner presented a few papers to his counterpart, Minister Kohlr, "As you can see, these figures show that trade between our countries has been stagnant for the past three years, our Premier, Madame Martinique is hoping that we can enhance opportunities for trade by at-least 15% since the Diette market is particularly attractive to Belmontien companies and investors." Kouchner flicked open his fountain pen, a gift from the Governor of Monville, and scribbled a few numbers, "And I believe that last year our tariff rates forced some of your companies to export items to other markets. As you may know, the Belmontien republic has a new government and we are seeking to rectify the mistakes of the past. We are ready to offer you several trade opportunities, provided that a fair approach is utilized between our two governments."

The strategic location of Belmont and Dietsland at the mouth of Gothic Sea was something which Villesen was keenly aware could make the partnership between the two countries immensely important, particularly as ties with Ivernia were frosty due to the fishing dispute. He took out another paper, "Minister Kohlr, we are proposing the following. Firstly, we seek to have greater access to your markets and in return we shall grant greater access to your firms in our market. Secondly, we are revising our tariff policy to be more progressive and so we seek similar initiatives from your government. Thirdly, we seek to have looser restrictions on business visas for investors and businessmen from both our countries. Fourthly, we would like to help and see if we can develop your natural resources... with focus on the extraction of fossil fuels."

 

[Avondland]

Ministry of State, Haraldsburh

Kohlr mulled over the minister's points, running a hand across his chin. "Yes, some protectionist policies have forced our exports elsewhere, that is true. I cannot speak to how private enterprises will react, but certainly loosening trade restrictions will increase our private exports to the area. As for our trade policies, certainly tariffs will be eliminated where possible -- the current government has always been interested in facilitating free trade. As for visas -- I see no reason why a deal can't be struck; we already have work visas with the majority of nations in the region. As for natural resource extraction, however...well, foreign investment in natural resources has always been something of a controversy, especially when it comes to fossil fuels. A joint venture is possible, but I'm not certain that we can enable private or public activity in that regard. Regardless, all of these suggestions will encourage bilateral economic growth., I'm sure." He punctuated his reply with a sip of liquor. "Have you given any thought to a joint naval exercise at some point in the future? Our nations' positions on Gothic Sea are strategic ones, as I'm sure you're well aware.''

 

[Serenierre]

Kouchner was pleased that there was a general agreement about the economic initiatives they could undertake to enhance the trade opportunities. Though he was sure the oil executives would not be pleased. "Yes, the strategic positions of both our countries is clear and apparent. The idea of a joint naval exercise has not escaped our minds and was one of the items I was hoping to talk about. But I am pleased that I was beaten to it. From Villesen, our position is this, we would love to engage in such exercises but it is our intention to not alienate [MENTION=1187]Ivernia[/MENTION] at this time, as you may know there are some unresolved issues with regard to fishing disputes so we would like to wait until that matter has been resolved before scheduling any exercises."

"In the meantime, let us propose an agreement for military to military cooperation and intelligence sharing, which will allow a closer scope of interactions between our boys in uniform. Perhaps some deals could be arranged between our defence contractors for either military. We would be very much interested in engaging in research with Diette defence companies, if there is appetite for such a measure here." Another area he wanted to talk about was the provision of jet aircraft to the Diette air force, as Belmont was busy modernising its own aerial capacity. He was sure that the representatives of the defence contractors had alerted the Minister of State of the possible sale of jets.

 

[Avondland]

Kohlr nodded along as the Belmontien minister spoke. As the Belmontien punctuated his sentence, Kohlr took ten seconds or so to jot down a series of notes on one of his blank sheets of paper before speaking. "Intelligence sharing and joint research is fantastic, of course. And another thing -- we have domestic designs for jet aircraft, but the number of units is limited and allocating production facilities is difficult for the time being. I've been approached by representatives of Belmontien defense contractors about the sale or lease of jet aircraft. That measure would not go unappreciated, I'm sure." Kohlr seemed to circle a sentence on the sheet of paper several times, perhaps for emphasis. "I'll send some key points to the War Ministry and economic advisers, and perhaps we'll get a proper draft of an agreement. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss while you're here?"

 

[Serenierre]

"I suppose, officially, I have nothing to say but..." he leaned in close to the Minister, "I must tell you that there is great interest in Villesen to develop ties with Haraldsburh to a level that a serious strategic partnership can be set up, do you understand my meaning? Our new government is especially keen to do whatever is necessary to court our northern friend... that is something you must remember." Following that, in his own hand, Kouchner presented a document, which had been prepared earlier and had the intention of allowing Dietsland and Belmont to become strategic allies for each other. He looked at the other man curiously, would he disappoint the Belmontiens?

---
Belmontien commitment
Trade agreement

Incentive package for Belmontien businesses to invest in Dietsland
Goal of enhancing trade by 15%
Reduction in tariffs and export duties
Preferential trade partner status​

Military agreement

The sale of 50 KMH-3 jet fighters to the Diette Air Force
Military cooperation and Intelligence sharing agreement
Special access to Belmontien arms industry (significant discount clause included)
​

Political agreement

Reformed visa scheme
Diplomatic solidarity agreement​

 

[Avondland]

Kohlr smiled and nodded along with the Belmontien as he spoke. He paused for a moment, sunken into his chair. Pulling out a pair of thin-framed reading glasses, he leaned forward, scanning the sheet with weary eyes as he ran a single finger down its surface. After a few minutes, he withdrew an ornately-crafted pen from his suit jacket, authoring his signature at the bottom of the document and clasping his hands together with a grin.

"I'll have His Majesty notified at once."