NationStates Jolt Archive

Presidential Villa
Edge of the Forellsee

"Ms. Deveraux's plane just landed at Talstadt Airport, Minister"

"Excellent. Is the West Balcony prepared for brunch?"

"Yes, Minister" the assistant replied, excusing themselves and leaving the room.

Thomas Baker left the Drawing Room, placing his neatly-folded copy of The Hochen Times on the coffee table. For a man of his advanced years, he couldn't help but feel the mix of excitement and nervousness at the thought of his first summit with a foreign counterpart. At least this was on...semi-familar ground. The Presidential Villa was usually reserved as a retreat for the Head of State, but on this occasion it had been decided that it would be a better advertisement for the nation if the foreign Minister was hosted here, in the far grander location on the edge of the wide inland lake, than in the confines of Talstadt's Old Town.

It would not take long for Ms. Deveraux to arrive, traffic was never a problem on this sparsely populated island of little more than ten million people. He could picture it now, the elongated black state limo speeding along the Autobahn with an escort of police motorbike, with the Minister within no doubt running through the memorised agenda junior ministers had already devised.

"Minister, they're on the outskirts of Flußdorf,"

"Very well, I shall be in the Entrance Hall"


Entrance Hall
Shortly after

Thomas reached the steps of the residence, as the State Limousine drew up. Waiting for Ms. Deveraux to step out, he stood at ease, hands clasped behind his back in the way he'd learned in his naval youth. The conference begins...

bump.

Presidential Villa
Edge of the Forellsee

From within the confines of the elongated limousine, Emily Deveraux watched the pristine natural beauty of Hochberg move past with great rapidity. During her flight from Imperium, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary had taken a keen interest in the geographic layout of the small island nation. The steps taken by the Hochen people in expanding their international contacts had impressed the Foreign Office, which remained alert for new and small nations that fostered the liberal democratic tradition.

After a short drive, the limousine pulled up to a grandiose palatial residence where an elder gentleman stood politely with his hands behind his back. The unusually young UK Foreign Secretary swung her thin legs out of the vehicle before standing to her modest height in a conservative black suit with a pale blue, silk blouse underneath. With a deferential nod she approached the individual she presumed to be her Hochen counterpart.

Secretary Baker, allow me to introduce myself: Emily Deveraux, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. On the behalf of His Majesty King George and the people of the United Kingdom and His Majesty’s Realms, thank you for this most gracious invitation to such a splendid villa. From what I have seen thus far, the Republic of Hochberg is a truly remarkable nation.

"On behalf of the Republic of Hochberg and all its citizens, welcome. We thank you for your compliments, and might I add that we are glad you could attend," Thomas Baker replied, shaking the hand of his younger, female counterpart.

"Shall we?" he suggested, gesturing that they ought to enter the villa and walk through onto the West Balcony.

Smiling, and after a brief nod, Ms. Deveraux walked alongside the elderly minister as they walked through the large entrance hall, with its elaborate floor-designs and the staircase that took pride of place.

"I trust you had a pleasant flight?"

"Very much so. I hope I haven't kept you waiting,"

"Not at all. I thought we might have Brunch on the balcony," Thomas suggested, although he knew full well that the itinerary had already been fully prepared.

"How thoughtful,"


A little later
The West Balcony

The two ministers sat opposite each other, over a small, oak table. Breakfast things had been laid out in front of them, and as they drank coffee, they first took a moment to look out at the view across the Forellsee.

"You can just about see the Weizeninsel, I believe...ahh yes, just there?" Baker pointed out the largest of the three islands that lay inside the giant lake.

"It truly is a remarkable location,"

"It certainly is. Now; I suppose we ought to get down to some business, really,"

Indeed, Deveraux responded, slowly replacing her cup of coffee upon its saucer. She replaced the coffee with a small pastry, which she took a small bite of before chasing it down with a sip of water. The United Kingdom, much like the Republic of Hochberg, is a constitutional monarchy, a liberal democracy. In this, His Majesty’s Government sees a friendship between our two states as mutually beneficial both diplomatically and economically, for in this cutthroat world it is no secret that diplomatic power inevitably follows economic might. And upon consultation with the finance and trade ministries, it is my opinion and that of the Prime Minister that the Hochen people stand in a good position for a period of rapid economic growth and expansion.

Deveraux daintily wiped the corner of her mouth, removing a trace of a crumb that had pestered her since her small bite of the pastry. Of course the first step towards normalising any trade relations between our two governments requires the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between our two nations – a power granted unto me by the Prime Minister. If you should find it acceptable, His Majesty’s Government is more than willing to provide a lot in our diplomatic quarters of our capital where we can finance the construction of what I hope to be the Hochen Embassy.

"That would be perfectly acceptable, in return we would very much like to extend the offer of an embassy in return, in Talstadt. My staff shall send over the relevant forms etc. immiediately,"

Thomas took another bite from the toast liberally covered with marmalade, that he was enjoying. All meetings ought to be over brunch, in his opinion. They were far more pleasant.

"Now, the Prime Minister has requested that I enquire as to the foreign policy of the United Kingdom..."

At the mention of foreign policy, Deveraux took a moment to spread some butter on a piece of toast. First I should like to thank you for the kind offer of an embassy in Talstadt, and as soon as my office has received said forms and such necessary paperwork it shall be returned with haste. She took a piece of fruit and bit a small piece off first, allowing the sweet flavour to occupy all her tastebuds before turning to the buttered toast, itself quite delicious in its simplicity.

The United Kingdom recognises the value of multilateralism and attempts to conduct its foreign affairs in accordance with the established norms of international diplomacy. In large part we prefer to negotiate peaceful settlements to conflicts and His Majesty’s Government has only been in one large-scale war in the past several years, a war waged upon us without provocation and without warning.

Deveraux took a moment to wash her toast down with some juice before continuing, finding herself quite pleased by the arrangements made by her counterpart. From what I can recall, Hochberg is party to the United Nations, Deveraux began, recalling the symbol of the UN on one of the pages that had been prepared on the nation for her review inflight. The United Kingdom, however, is not. And while we have no malice towards the organisation or indeed many of its objectives – its enforcement of policies that might run counter to established UK law or custom would, in principle, violate His Majesty’s sovereignty over the United Kingdom and His Realms. We are a party, however, to several international organisations, most notably the New Alliance Treaty Organisation, the Union of World Powers, and the Free Commerce and Trade Association of Democratic Nations. The United Kingdom has a long history of isolationism and consequently His Majesty’s Government prefers not to entangle itself in too many foreign treaties and alliances that would draw her unnecessarily into open conflict. That is not to say, Deveraux added with a polite smile, that the United Kingdom is unduly opposed to bilateral treaties and other such arrangements. But enough of the UK for the moment. While I confess to having read my briefings several times, I am afraid that there is not much available information on Hochen foreign policy or government policy in general; and I would be much obliged if I could inquire.