Dispatch to the Northlands

[Uberstein]

Ambassador Gabrielė Astrauckas would be sent to the Northlands to establish diplomatic relations, and a request to meet with Lord Legrand would be sent both by diplomatic fax prior to arrival, and by radio as the aircraft entered Northlands airspace.

 

[Californian]

Ambassador Astrauckas would be hailed via radio to land at the airport. She was afforded all the gala and accommodations of a visiting diplomat and was greeted by staff from the Foreign Affairs Office on the tarmac. She would be led from her hotel to the building currently serving as the FAO headquarters in the middle of the government sector of Noordenwind. There she met Lord Jakob Legrand, who stood up to greet her.

 

Legrand was a man in his late fifties, well seasoned in both his career and physical appearance. He was a tall, thin man of Belgian descent with a grayish beard and spectacles. He was a senior official in the Office, and had been specifically chosen due to his knowledge of Ubersteinian and European affairs and politics. He extended his hand to his counterpart.

 

"Greetings Ambassador Astrauckas, it's my pleasure to welcome you to Noordenwind. On behalf of the Northlands government and people, we are grateful for the recognition your government has provided us on our recent formation. I hope your nation is doing well; hopefully more peaceful now that the war in Scandinavia is drawing to a close. I myself have visited the Baltic region several times and am always awestruck by the beauty of the land and people. 

 

This meeting marks the start of formal relations between our nations, and I'm hopeful that a strong, flourishing connection between our nations can be made possible. Friendly, honorable states are always a pleasure to work with," Legrand stated while giving a warm smile. "The Northlands would be interested in allowing these relations to develop with the assistance of bilateral agreements in trade and non-aggression depending on the outcome of these talks," he said, providing possible results of the meeting depending on the interests of the ambassador and her government. He sipped his drink, waiting for her response.

[Uberstein]

Ms. Astrauckas stood nearly a head shorter than the man, and was somewhere in her mid-to-late 40s. She was dressed professionally, in a standard brown military-styled suit. She smiled and shook his hand firmly, and waited for him to finish speaking before responding, "Lord Legrand, it is my pleasure to visit the Northlands. I'll admit, this is the first time I have visited, but I've always admired the region from afar. Relations with the Northlands is exactly what I'm here to establish. However, I've been authorized to offer you one better than non-aggression; optional defense. The Baltic Union makes no secret of its plan to move towards a more politically stable and unified Europe, and is willing to make the steps needed to create it. Free trade and optional defense would serve well as a first step."

[Californian]

"The Northlands would be willing to sign an optional defense agreement, especially in light of the success of the joint peacekeeping operations between our two nations in Germany. We see defense cooperation between our nations as stabilizing for our states as well as northern and western Europe. We agree with your ultimate goal for a stable Europe, although right now we are less certain that this can be done via unification especially from supranational political agreements and organizations. Recent wars like the one between Sweden and Russia make us uncertain that all regional players are coming to the table with the same motives and morals that our nation believes in. However, we do believe that regional cooperation like that expressed in a bilateral ODP between our states would help set the foundation for further ties down the road. 

 

While on the subject of Germany, my government has asked me to pass along a message about the intention to set up a peacekeeping headquarters in Berlin for the time being. The purpose of such an office would be simply to assist in the collaboration of our nations and to ensure the logistics and interoperability of our men and women on the ground. This is simply to make it easier for us to work together while allowing us to control and command our respective forces.That being said, the Northlands is curious what your intentions are with Germany, if any?

 

It seems both of us would be well served by and agree to a free trade agreement. Are there any goods or products that you would need exceptions from this agreement for? The agricultural and winery sector of our economy is still new and in order to promote its resurgence we would likely not be able to lower all agricultural tariffs completely for the time being. 

 

Additionally, now that our nations seem to begin both economic and security cooperation, I will mention that the Northlands military is currently being expanded to account for our ascension to the world stage. This leaves us in the position of needing to acquire the various equipment and vehicles needed to outfit an armed forces and our defense industry is still just taking root. We are interested in purchasing small arms, artillery, and several hundred tanks from your state arms company. Due to the friendly status between our nations and desire to sign an ODP, are you able to provide a discount as well as subsidized assistance with training, maintenance, and upgrades for this order?"

Edited May 24, 2014 by California

[Uberstein]

"I'm glad an ODP is something the Northlands could agree too. As it's a fairly simple agreement, I don't think it needs much more discussion, unless you feel it does. A joined peacekeeping command would be something to work towards, however, I feel that any discussions on the German situation should include Alvonia as well. Perhaps a joint conference in Berlin after this meeting. I've also been told that our current peacekeeping forces are only a temporary measure, but that a force of one or two thousand could be provided for more long-term service."

 

She briefly flipped through her folder before finding the right page, "On the topic of free trade, the Baltic Union would still have protectionist measures in place for the industries we've nationalized. I have the list here...Healthcare, Life Insurance, Weapon Manufacturing, Agriculture, Power, Water, Gas/Fuel, and Internet. Basically, the things the state views as basic human rights, or of national importance. As for a discount, I can put in a good word for you for when you contact that portion of the government."

Edited May 24, 2014 by Uberstein

[Californian]

"This sounds acceptable. The Northlands is enthusiastic to have a European partner in the realms of economics and defense. Our defense officials will be in communication shortly regarding military purchases. I've also taken the liberty of drawing up a standard option defense and non-aggression pact, along with a free trade agreement between our nations. This will need the official approval of the High Council and the King before being formally ratified by the Northlands," he informed his counterpart as he passed her the documents. 

 

"We agree that a conference would help clear any confusion that the German incident has caused. We are prepared to attend and work with the other European nations with vested interests to ensure stability in the region. Is there anything else you wished to discuss? I'd imagine we will be working together closely in the future."

[Uberstein]

She looked over the documents carefully, "I'll need to pass this by my government as well, though I don't see anything that they'd disagree with. I'll get back to you as soon as possible on this. Now, is there anything else you can think to discuss while I'm here? I think we've covered everything."

 

OOC: Do you have it actually written up or should I copy/paste an older ODP?

[Californian]

"Excellent, I think we've covered all the points I wanted to discuss. I'm sure we'll be in contact, and the Northlands would be open to renegotiating our level of cooperation in the next few years as our relationship continues to develop and evolve."

 

"Please enjoy your time in Noordenwind, I look forward to working with you in the future Ms. Astrauckas," Legrand told her with a warm smile. With that, he would provide a summary of the meeting to the foreign affairs office and soon be on his way to setting up and staffing the Northlands embassy in Riga. 

 

OOC: If you had the ODP text that would be great.

[Uberstein]

 

Article II: Conduct
Signatories of this pact pledge to show only respect and good will towards each other. While this will prohibit outright verbal hostility in all its forms, it will not restrict healthy debate or productive disagreement.

Article III: Assistance
If either signatory requests assistance in the form of military assistance, economic aid, or political intervention, it is strongly encouraged for the other signatory to provide what help it can, though both parties accept that this is not an obligation.

Article IV: Intelligence
Should vital knowledge of a political or military nature come to the attention of one signatory, they are required to share it with the other.

 

Article V: Free Trade

Both parties agree to not tariff, tax, or otherwise charge a fee for goods imported from the other nation, with the exception of nationalized industries or industries which have been agreed upon for protection. In addition, companies whose headquarters are in one nation shall be given preferential treatment over other nations'. 

Article V: Cancellation
It is the hope of both signatories that this pact may last forever, or until the bond it represents grows to the point where an upgrade is merited.  Given the uncertainties of the future, however, it is recognized that should any of the above Articles be violated, or should some major irreparable disagreement arise, that this pact maybe canceled after 1 month's notice.

 

"Does this look acceptable?"

[Californian]

"Yes, this looks acceptable. I will have it brought to the king and ratified."

[Uberstein]

The treaty would also be signed by President Uberstein and Ambassador Gabrielė Astrauckas.