South of Tokyo (Elthize - Yosai Summit)
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Upon the information that the Yosainese delegation had arrived, the security around Forecoaster International Airport was strengthened as much as possible. Dozens of security guards waited around the terminal to guide them to their convoy. "Right this way, gentlemen," one of the guards said, presumably the leader of the pack. The trio were led to the outside road, entering their designated vehicle, which was armoured. Around a dozen other cars followed suit to the Presidential Palace.
Meanwhile, Grimwald was watching the red carpet laid out on the floor for the distinguished guests. Right behind him, two guards took position, holding the Elthic and Yosainese flags respectively. The orchestra was on the left side, they were getting prepared to play the two countries' anthems. On the right, the remaining guards were in lines, standing still, waiting for the guest to arrive in the ridiculously hot Elthic summer.
"I'm sure the AC stocks are in grave danger right now," Oscar, who was waiting right behind Grimwald, quietly but snarkily commented.
"Yes. Is Tobias ready?"
"He's inside."
"Oh, for goodness sake-" Grimwald then went inside the palace to find Tobias, though he was already coming anyway.
"Apologies! Apologies, you know the traffic." Tobias claimed, somewhat out of breath.
"Traffic? This isn't St. Lucas! Anyway, thank goodness you're here. Let's go, we have to be in order!"
Meanwhile, other people were gathering around, most notably journalists and their cameramen, though there were also a few citizens watching the event unfold from afar.
"Okay! Is everyone ready?" Just as Grimwald said that the Yosainese convoy had arrived. Right after the trio had gotten out of their cars, the orchestra immediately began playing the Yosainese national anthem. Everyone stood still until the anthem ended. After that, the guards who held the flags walked down the stairs, and the guests walked on the red carpet to the tune of Millennii patriae (the national anthem of Elthize). Both sides then proceeded to shake hands.
"Welcome to Forecoaster, gentlemen. Hoping you had a great flight," Grimwald started the conversation.
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The delegates shook hands with President Grimwald. "Yes the flight was rather nice Mr President. We're glad to be in this fine country of yours." All delegates wearing the usual business attire. All of which had friendly smiles.
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"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here," Oscar smiled.
"Indeed. I reckon we have a lot to talk about. Shall we, gentlemen?" Grimwald continued, pointing at his office.
While the Yosainese delegation walked towards the office with Greenwich, Tobias was a little behind them. He quietly complained to Oscar, who was walking alongside him.
"Gee, these guys sure are fucking dry when talking."
"No small talk, I guess."
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The Yosainese delegation followed their counterparts. Yuichi Watanabe replied "I have to admit I'm kind of embarrassed, this is my first time to your country and it's so close to us. So Mr Grimwald you said you have some items on the agenda?"
Meanwhile Secretary of State Yuichi Matsuda heard Oscar and Tobias talking "Apologies for the General Secretary, he is rather direct." Secretary of Trade and Industry Kyomi Ishijo replied "Yes, but that doesn't mean we can't part take in some pleasantries later." she said with a smile.
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Tobias was not expecting anyone besides Oscar to hear him, so the opposite happening was so embarrassing that he had to excuse himself to the bathroom. Meanwhile, the rest had arrived at Grimwald's office, who noticed that Tobias was gone the moment he sat at his seat.
"That's awkward... Oscar, where's Toby?"
"He had a... minor inconvenience, let's say," Oscar replied, trying to cover the thing, which Grimwald wasn't aware of. "Well, anyway, is there anything our guests want?" Oscar was eager to change the subject.
"You can excuse yourself, Oscar. I'll call Jan. Ladies, gentlemen, would you like a beverage? Hot? Cold? We recently got some of that Leagioan desert tea. I haven't tried it but my wife likes it, so there. We have some sweets, too, if you'd rather have that."
After taking everyone's order, Grimwald did not wait for them to arrive and started talking.
"Well, welcome once again. I'm glad that we're having this summit. We have a lot to talk about so I'll not waste our time. So, as you probably know, we, the Elthics, don't like getting into conflicts with other countries. We'd like to avoid them as much as possible. We try to keep our relations good and let the free market win, by that I mean set up free trade agreements, have more foreign companies enter into Elthize, more investment and jobs, et cetera, et cetera... And because of this, we don't want to pick sides. For example, we don't want to join either ECON or Telum. They're not our enemies, not really, but I really don't want anyone side-eyeing me or my country. So, neutrality it is. And here's my question: Would Yosai support a possible Elthic neutrality motion in the future? Now, we can still be neutral without a motion, sure, but we also wanna legitimize our efforts. I think a motion approved by the European Council would help with that."
Right as he finished speaking, the door knocked and the page started serving the room their orders.
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General Secretary Watanabe replied "Yes, we have had Leagioan desert tea its rather nice, lets have some of that. What do you guys think?" He asked his colleagues, they all nodded their heads in agreement. While that was going on The General Secretary was drinking in the words of his counterpart President Greenwich Grimwald.
He then replied "Mr President, we have no intention of getting other nations involved in colficts concerning the tensions between ECON and Telum. Ideally Yosai would be a neutral country but events of last year have put that dream to aside for the foreseeable future. However that doesn't mean we wish to bring other nations into our conflicts. We respect neutrality of other nations. Its their sovereign right to determine their own foreign policy. Even if Elthize were to join Telum, doesn't mean we can't be good neighbours as we don't see alliances of monoliths. So to answer your question President Grimwald, the answer is yes. We will support your nations neutrality as your nation's right as a sovereign nation."
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"That is incredible to hear, Mr Watanabe," Grimwald replied. He then took a sip of water, which he always orders when there's an opportunity to do so, and shortly after that, Tobias arrived.
"Gentlemen, I give you all my greatest apologies. It was not meant to be like this."
Grimwald was weirded out by how his cabinet was acting today, but he tried to ignore it to make it not awkward for the guests.
"Uh... Yes. You can sit down."
Grimwald then took another sip and continued:
"Where was I... Oh, yes. Mr Watanabe, that is wonderful to hear and we are thankful for the support. Now, I recall you guys just got off a summit with Leagio to talk about a possible connected railway, and I also talked with Mouri-Kudo about connecting Elthize and Leagio via railway, and she and I were very positive about connecting Leagio and Elthize via train. And here's my second question, would you guys support connecting Elthize and Yosai via railway? We are already considering investing a great amount in high-speed rail to connect Elthize better than ever before, and it'd be great if we managed to make this system international with our neighbouring nations."
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General Secretary Watanabe took a sip of water. "We can do that. Elthize will probably get high speed rail gown to most of the west coast where our Atlantic facing cities are. If your people want to go further it then probably your people will have to go through Leagio or your people can get off at Tokyo and catch another rail line wherever you wish to go. If you want I can arrange a meeting with the CEO of Yosai National Rail, this will also make it easier in transporting freight as well. No doubt that all our nations of Leagio, Elthize and Yosai will benefit. I will of course attempt to see the idea to the DU as well. The details however are still in the conceptual state." He said while giving a gentle smile.
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"Well, of course. Large projects need time and effort to ensure they are perfect and there are no fatal mistakes. Our high-speed rail projects have been in planning stages for years now, but we do expect to start construction this year," Grimwald continued, enthusiastic about the agreements on a possible railway.
"Speaking of... large infrastructure projects, let's talk about gas pipes, shall we? I and my Spanish colleagues have been considering a line that goes from Elthize to Spain, and in between are... you guys, Yosai. And we have drawn out a plan that can also supply Yosai during this transfer. What we want is permission to go through Yosainese soil, instead of an alternative route, like going through the ocean or going through the long route through the Duxburian Union. What do we think?"
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General Secretary replied "Yosai does have its own oil and natural gas supply. WE don't need nor have the desire to build this pipeline. We could just expedite the process and build a pipeline from our supply in the far north east of our province in Gyukanjima which faces the Red Strait where deep water supply of natural gas is and build it towards your nation and we both share it. More efficient that way wouldn't you agree?"
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The Yosainese response was expected, but the counter-idea they proposed was quite plausible. After all, many of Grimwald's admirers praised him as a pragmatic guy, a compliment he loved to carry.
"That is indeed a plausible idea, Mr. Watanabe. We can discuss it in further detail. I assume it was somewhat insensitive of us to suggest such projects given the current geopolitical circumstances. Regardless, we believe that the tension between Spain and Yosai has a negative impact. If needed, we can be the negotiator between the two nations to reduce the tension."
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General Secretary Watanabe merely chuckled "Well whatever role you wish to assign yourself in our geopolitical situation is your decision. We just thought there is more efficiant way to meet both of our needs. I mean sure I'll meet with Spanish officials again. whether anything comes of it is up to them. But thats a discussion for another time. Is there anything else you wish to discuss Mr Grimwald?"
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"Well, we have nothing to add," Grimwald replied, standing up alongside Crofton to shake hands with the Yosainese delegation once more.
"Mr Watanabe, thank you for taking your time for this summit. Talks like this are important for diplomacy, and we're glad to have you here," Grimwald continued.
"We also would like to mention that you are welcome here at any given time," Crofton added.
After the end of the final talks, the Yosainese delegation was guided to the vehicles that would transport them back to the Forecoaster International Airport, from which they would fly to Tokyo, Yosai's capital. The summit was successfully over.
