A look to the South

[Mitteleuropa]

President of Conseil Exécutif Mbala Dutoit requests a meeting with the Dutch Congo, with plans to reaffirm a friendly relationship with the nation and establish renewed economic ties. The Dutch are invited to meet in the capital of Kinshasa.

[Alanston]

President Ablendan Hendrikszoon Ouman of Loango-Angola (Dutch Congo) would receive the invitation. After some debate, he would agrees to the meeting. President Dutoit would be informed that he would be travelling with 2 aides and a guard, and would be arriving in Kinshasa by plane.

[Mitteleuropa]

The plane is welcomed into Congolese airspace and towards N'djili Airport, where a chauffeur and security are waiting to escort the President to the National Assembly, where the two are scheduled to meet.

[Alanston]

President Hendrikszoon Ouman and his entourage would greet the waiting escort and travel to the National Assembly. Once there, he would greet the Congolese President with an outstretched hand. "Bonjour monsieur! I thank you for this invitation, it is a pleasure to meet with you today. Tell me, what do you wish to discuss this fine day?"

[Mitteleuropa]

Mbala welcomes the President with a warm and firm handshake. "Welkom broer! Thank you for accepting my invitation, I'm happy to have you here." He gestures towards the building, where a pair of guards stand at attention by a pair of open doors. "Shall we? it gets quite hot, this time of year."

[Incredibly sorry for the delay, life got busy]

[Alanston]

"Absolutely, lead the way inside." President Hendrikszoon Ouman would follow Mbala into the building and presumably to the meeting room, where he would take a seat.

[Mitteleuropa]

Mbala takes a seat opposite to the President, and places his wide hands and wrists on top of the desk, clasped together. "Our people are both experiencing revolutionary times for African self-dependence and self-determination, and our futures shine bright with potential and opportunity. It is my desire that we continue to stand together during this promising time. Trials and decisions will come, and it would be mutually beneficial if we both had one less potential problem. I do not desire an offensive, or even defensive alliance, just a simple continuation of our prosperous, friendly relationship." He unclasps his hands, and reaches into his personal mini-fridge for a pitcher. "My father always told me, a conversation is best had over a shared glass. Before I continue, may I offer you some lemonade?"

[Alanston]

Ouman nods thoughtfully as Mbala talks, listening to his words. "I would love a glass of lemonade, thank you. As for this friendly relationship, what sort of things did you have in mind? It sounds like a non-aggression pact is being suggested, but what did you have in mind beyond that?"

[Mitteleuropa]

He slides the first poured glass to his guest, while continuing to pour a glass for himself. "Well, besides a non-aggression pact, I would like to continue to expand the economic relationship of our two nations. Though the value of our natural resources are most visible at port, where ships come and go, they're primarily originating from inside the heart of the Congo. Distribution from there to the coast is often quite laborious and costly. We would like to simplify this process to the benefit of us both, by creating a shared network of roads and rail networks where our nations meet, as well as allowing relatively easy travel between our two countries, for the purposes of tourism and business. This doesn't have to be a completely free and open border, just one with eased restrictions and quicker border checks to allow economic use of the most efficient routes. "

[Alanston]

"Hmm... The increase of roads and rail networks is very advantageous to us. I think I can agree to that, as well as the relaxing of border restrictions. With regards to the other aspects of this economic relationship, what sort of agreements are we looking at there? As I'm sure you know, our economy centres quite heavily on oil exploitation. If we agree to this, how might this affect our natural resources? The same could be said for your natural resources?"

[Mitteleuropa]

"Both parties will fully retain their resource sovereignty, I don't intend to pose any price controls with regards to how you price oil sales towards our nation, and vice versa with our Cobalt and other resources. I trust that market forces will naturally regulate this for the time being. Outside of pricing and ownership, we are interested in becoming a long term partner, importing a greater amount of our Oil demand from your supply, as domestic supply is not enough to fulfill domestic demand. We would offer the same in return with our Cobalt supply, though this is entirely up to your discretion and desires. Long term, we can both utilize the economic gains from this relationship to invest in more manufacturing and service based economies."

[Alanston]

"Well then, in that case I find your terms agreeable. Are you certain you did not wish for any sort of military agreement beyond non-aggression? As for this rail, were you thinking regular, or high speed, or both?"

[Mitteleuropa]

"Rail will likely be mostly for freight, so normal rail will suffice, I don't see much demand for highspeed rail for the time being. With all respect, we have no political interests with your people or it's government, and we wish the same in return, for your relation to us. When and If there is conflict where we both intend to support one another, I trust my government, and I trust your government, to make that determination to coordinate."

[Alanston]

"Very well, I agree to things as they are. I presume you will have a treaty drawn up for us to sign?"

[Mitteleuropa]

He opens his drawer for a folder, places it atop the table, and removes it's contents. "All included here, with my signature already in place." He slides the papers across with a pen.