The East Siberian Economic Summit

[Sarah Tintagyl]

[quote]
[b]To: The Economic Ministry of Cyrantia
From: Zhu Tao, Viceroy of Austro-Hungarian Ehestadt
Subject: Economic Summit in Ehestadt

CC: The Economic Ministries of the URSR, the SRV, the UFE, Japan, Marscurian Siberia, and the Madagan Oblast[/b]

[i]Your Excellency,

With the development of the Siberian Region and the Northeastern Asian Corridor as a whole, there stands great opportunity for economic wealth and stability through open markets. Nearly all of the nations in this region have had some history together, especially under the guiding hands of the Serene Republic of Vaule and the United Federation of the East, who have together spearheaded such success in this area of the world. However, it is the Empire's opinion that with a lessening of economic tariffs and a growing communal bond that East Siberia and the surrounding regions can easily become some of the most wealthy in the world. The Empire's dream is a simple one, one that includes economic understanding and cooperation from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. With the massive amounts of mineral resources available and the growing ports on the coast, cooperation is the last missing ingredient from these territories.

Thus I would like to invite you to Ehestadt for an economic summit, hosted by Austria-Hungary, to speak about the potential of economic cooperation and other concerns that Your Excellency may bring up.

I look forward to your arrival and hope the evening will be most fruitful.

Sincerely,

Zhu Tao
Viceroy of Ehestadt[/i]
[/quote]

[Zoot Zoot]

[quote]To: Zhu Tao, Viceroy of Austro-Hungarian Ehestadt
Subject: Economic Summit.

The USRS is unable to attend this meeting due to the possiblity of Magadan Oblast being in attendance. Presently, tensions are too high between our Nations and with both our Nations on the brink of war after this weekends hostilities in the Oblast Sea, the Foreign Office has decided to decline this invite. We would be more than happy to hear your proposals in a one on one meeting, or in a summit that does not include Magadan Oblast.


Signed
President Malenkov
USRS.[/quote]

[Domingo the Honored]

[b]To: Zhu Tao, Viceroy of Ehestadt
From: Dmitry Garin, High Chancellor of Foreign Affairs[/b]

It is a pleasure to receive another invitation from you, Madam Viceroy. I congratulate the recent Austro-Hungarian unification. It is a momentous occasion for Austria. As I said some time ago at our last meeting, the Chancellery of Cyrantia is highly interested in this summit. As such I shall certainly arrive once more at Ehestadt to represent us. I look forward to seeing you again as well as the other nations in attendance. Let this evening be one of great significance for Siberia as well as Austria!

P.S.

On request by the Grand Chancellor of the State, I have been told to ask you for an attendance with you after this summit has concluded. The Chancellery of Cyrantia is interested in matters between us that do not include the other attendees. Hopefully we may discuss our treaty and what may be done to further it.

[Triyun]

[b]Dispatch from the Office of the Grand Vizier of the United Federation of the East:[/b]

[b]To:[/b] Office of the Austrian Viceroy, Ehestadt
[b]From:[/b] Office of the Deputy Vizier for Trade Affairs
[b]Body:[/b]

We will be happy to dispatch a representative to open up trade with nations currently on preferred trade status. Obviously as Ehestadt is dual territory, there are no restrictions on trade between it and the rest of the Federation except for currency transaction costs for merchants who prefer Austrian to Federation currencies.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Triyun

[KaiserMelech Mikhail]

Princess Sarah, the foremost expert on the Marscurian Siberian economy, will attend the summit.

[Imperator Azenquor]

Despite the headaches caused by the latest incident in the Asian region, the Serene Republic would dispatch Lady Natalya Sharova as its representative to the summit. Due to heightened security precautions, Lady Sharova's plane took off from the Yuktobania region to Sakhalin and then from Sakhalin to Ehestadt. Hours before she arrived, the Foreign Ministry would officially accept the invitation to the summit.

[supercheese]

We would be honored to attend the meeting. An economics adviser and representative would be sent.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

While Japan had yet to respond to Tao's letter, she thought it best to get the conference underway with what nations had bothered to attend. The USRS had declined the invite, citing irreconcilable difference between them and the Madagan Oblast, though the Madagans had no problem in showing up. It was a shame, but if civil differences would keep that part of Siberia in conflict, Tao would focus on the territories who had given her the opportunity to speak and in time perhaps work out the difference they had with each other. If Austria was going to get involved in the Siberian Sphere, the Imperial Government needed to understand the delicate politics between the states and such was the point of the conference. To understand how Siberia functioned, what their needs and desires were, and how Austria's colonial east could fit into such a puzzle.

With the representatives arriving in Ehestadt, they would be directed to the remodeled Primorye Hotel, changed from it's drab, gray exterior to an architecture more suited for the outpost of the Viennese Tradition. Inside, a conference room had been set up on the far side of the hotel. Thick red drapes kept the heat flowing through the room, while poinsettias and other seasonal flowers were arranged along the edges of the square table. There standing up, as the first representatives arrived, was Tao.

"Greetings to you all and I would like to welcome all our neighbors to Austria's First Siberian Economic Conference." She said looking over the representatives around her. "My name is Zhu Tao, I am Her Majesty's Viceroy of Ehestadt. To make sure I do not hold up any of Your Excellencies precious time, I will get right to the point of this conference. Austria, until our homeland was able to stabilize could not look out barely past our own borders in Europe, let alone see the beautiful political and economic dynamic that exists here in Siberia. Now, however, that we do have stability and have gained the trust of many of the Siberian states," she graciously bowed to the Cyrantian delegation, "The Empress believes that we should begin cementing our old and new relationships into one single and solitary economic bloc."

Tao sat back down and folded her hands. "What our proposal is, to Your Excellencies, is the creation of a far-flung economic bloc tying all of our countries together through trade, from the Pacific Ocean to the Ural Mountains. With the amount of natural resources in Siberia and the expanding ports and harbors to have them exported, we have the basis for one of the strongest regional economies in the world. Many of us have differences, but I believe, if we can look past those differences we can put Siberia on the global map."

[Triyun]

While there was overlap in authority, the Federation was represented by Deputy Imperator Yuan Li. Li leaned back in his chair. "My brother has no issues with the proposals offered here. In fact, we have very strong ties already to both the Austrians, Mascurians, and Vaules. My view of this is that Siberia should be a politically stable zone, economic interdependence tends to increase stability. The Federation is prepared to do its part in assisting economic development, we believe with our strong manufacturing base combined with much of Siberia's natural resources we can help create a very strong trade dynamic which plays to both of our comparative advantages. We are also prepared to help co-finance projects that would expand the Northern warm water ports to link them to much of the territory of those assembled here offering year round ice free access. Lastly regarding ice, the Federation is prepared to lower VAT tax on its nuclear powered ice breaker lines for those assembled here."

[supercheese]

The magadan representative David Egerov leaned forward has he spoke "We would be very interested in this proposal. We already have economic ties with the cyrantians and would like to further our economic ties with the other Siberian nations. And with our large amounts of minerals has well has expanding ports along our coasts we believe we have much to offer."

[Imperator Azenquor]

Dr. Sharova took a few notes before making her reply:

[i]“I must admit that my government is generally skeptical of economic blocs, and some in my country even consider such blocs as undermining the economic policymaking ability of the government in some sectors. Nevertheless, in the interests of furthering regional economic integration, the Serene Republic of Vaule would be willing to agree to some form of regional tariff lowering mechanism and potentially the creation of a Free Trade Zone. We would however need to be careful that any economic arrangement does not increase in scope merely because it is able to do so.

If the proposal for an economic bloc meets with broad approval, and is accepted by my government, I am also able to guarantee that the members of the proposed bloc would be granted preferential trade partner status with the Serene Republic. While due to prior economic and political ties we have forged strong links with the UFE and, to a lesser extent, the USRS, we feel that it would be beneficial for the region if a bloc was formed.

I will however caution, that my government can not and will not agree to any economic bloc which seeks a common currency, or control over taxation and monetary policy of any member nation. We feel that it is in the best interests of all states to retain these functions. We are more than willing to agree to an economic bloc which allows each member government a significant latitude regarding economic policy and at the same time promotes a stronger and more prosperous Siberian region. After all, we are stronger together than each of us apart.”[/i]

[Domingo the Honored]

High Chancellor of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Garin smiled at the small mention of the new Austro-Cyrantian treaty. He listened carefully to the Viceroy's words and thought to himself for a moment. He took in the responses of the other representatives and spoke up.

"[i]As the Viceroy will tell you, the Chancellery of Cyrantia has been open to this idea since our initial negotiation with Austria. It is regrettable our allies in the United Socialist Republic of Siberia see such irreparable differences with our economic partners in the Oblast that they have not attended. Still, the representation of nations here makes for a powerful gathering economically. Even without them, we may still present a dominant economic gain by banding together.[/i]"

Garin took a sip of his water, a common theme when he would talk. His mouth always seemed to dry a little quicker around foreign diplomats, and in the presence of so many national representatives, it may as well have been a desert. When he felt he would not stutter, he continued.

"[i]We agree that a common unit of currency or significant universal policies about economic activities and taxation is not the route to take here. We believe the chief importance here are clauses guaranteeing lower tariffs and higher preference in commerce between member states. We hope this economic bloc will unite the Siberian economies to become a major player in the world stage, while at the same time not retaining a stranglehold on the individual workings of its members.[/i]"

Edited September 2, 2011 by Domingo the Honored

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Tao nodded towards Sharova, "I can assure you, Madame Representative, nothing on the grounds of a unified currency will be discussed or the establishment of some overarching council will be discussed. Austria only seeks to bring the nations in the Siberian Region together as a cooperative base. Lowering tariffs and open dialogue, in truth it would also be nice to push for some form of non-aggression as well. The Representative from Cyrantia brings up an interesting point, in that the United Socialist Republic of Siberia is not in attendance because of the Oblast. Such tension as this must be remedied in time and perhaps after this meeting we can discuss possibilities for cooperation between our two troubled neighbors.

That said, would you representatives here be in agreement for the creation of a treaty calling for non-aggression, economic cooperation, open borders, and a lowering of tariffs? Or are their parts of this proposal you would like to discuss further?"

[Triyun]

We agree to all of Austria's proposals.

The United Federation of the East would like to discuss, or rather highlight the opportunity for Siberian nations to invest in the Trans-Mongolian Space Launch loop. Thus far it appears we will be receiving substantial funding from Selenarctos and Burma, however, we would also like to propose that the Siberian nations also take part in funding this. In exchange for loans provided to help pay for this and the infrastructure surrounding this, we can offer links to your nation from it to allow you to more economically deploy assets into space.

Edited September 5, 2011 by Triyun