[ROI]: Message to Norway

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Republic of Ireland
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To: Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Norway Vaka
From: Finn Queally, Department of Foreign Affairs Political Division, Republic of Ireland
CC:

Greetings,

I am writing you in the hopes of establishing relations between Ireland and Norway, both economic and diplomatic. Thank you for inviting us to the summit and I believe that outside of this we should pursue one on one relations. I would like to invite you to a separate meeting to discuss this in Dublin. We can discuss the establishment of trade and diplomatic nations in one another's nations at this meeting. Ireland as a nation wishes to encourage positive relations between of the nations of Europe and wishes to also take part in international peace keeping operations. I would also like to note that the success of the Nordic Council is rather inspiring and we are interested in learning from it.

Regards,
Finn Queally
Department of Foreign Affairs Political Division
Republic of Ireland

 

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To: Finn Queally, Department of Foreign Affairs Political Division, Republic of Ireland HeadlessSeeker
Cc:
Subject: Meeting in Dublin.
From: Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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Good Morning Mr. Queally, I have just arrived back in Olso from meetings in Paris. I would love to schedule a trip to Dublin in the next few days. I feel like our two nations have a great many things in common. Both trade and fellowship come naturally to the Irish and Norwegian peoples. I look forward to the amazing sights of Dublin and the warm conversations I’m sure we will have. I am available the rest of this week and will leave the details up to your office. My staff traveling with me include my personal secretary and two security personnel. We will be traveling aboard a chartered flight from Olso. I look forward to meeting you in person! Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Norway

 

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Republic of Ireland
Encrypted and Classified
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To: Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Norway Vaka
From: Finn Queally, Department of Foreign Affairs Political Division, Republic of Ireland
CC:

Greetings,

That is most excellent to hear, and I hope your trip to Paris was pleasant. We can accommodate you at the historic hotel in Dublin The Shelbourne Dublin. If you would like we can make this meeting into a full diplomatic visit with a tour of Dublin and any other historic sites within Ireland. How does two days from now sound?

Regards,
Finn Queally
Department of Foreign Affairs Political Division
Republic of Ireland

 

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To: Finn Queally, Department of Foreign Affairs Political Division, Republic of Ireland HeadlessSeeker
Cc:
Subject: Re:Meeting in Dublin.
From: Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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Good Morning Mr. Queally, A tour of Dublin sounds absolutely splendid. I will inform my staff that we will be leaving in two days' time. We will be arriving via charter flight to Dublin Airport at 0700. Once we arrive we will be in your hands Mr. Queally. Kind Regards, Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Norway

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre and his personal secretary, Alice Oskarsen along with 2 security team members would arrive early Wednesday morning via Norwegian Air Shuttle. Their bags would be delivered to The Shelbourne Dublin. Once off the plane, the group would await to be picked up by the Irish Foreign Affairs. While they waited, Secretary Oskarsen and Minister Støre talked about hoping to see the St. James's Gate Brewery.

 

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A limousine would arrive in front of the The Shelbourne Dublin which had Finn Queally in the back of it. The driver parking and getting out before opening the rear passenger doors for the Norwegians. "Gentlemen! i Trust you have been comfortable? Please take a seat. We can talk on the way as well." Finn would say as the limo was ready to take them to their destination.

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Minister Støre reached out shaking the hand of Mr. Queally. He introduced himself and his personal secretary Alice Oskarsen. They escaped the windy outside to the comfort of the limousine. As they took their seats, Minster Store sat unusually close to his secretary. He noticed the short glance made by the Irish representative and quickly adjusted himself slightly closer to the door. She shot him a subtle glance, while he continued on with his Irish hosts. “The flight was wonderful, Mr. Queally,” said Minister Støre awkwardly. “And it seems that Ireland is as beautiful as described!”

The small talk continued for a few moments until Minister Støre asked, “So we have much to discuss Mr. Queally but I do hope that we have time for a proper tour of Dublin.” “We were just recently in Paris but did not have any time to enjoy the sights. As a devout fan of stout, I am particularly interested in visiting the St. James's Gate Brewery if we could find the time. I have also heard from the Prime Ministers' office that the Grand European Summit is underway. What would Irelands hope to see manifest from the Summit?”

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"But of course, we can have a full tour of the historic sights of Dublin as well as where you want to go. We can take our time on this." he would check his watch for a moment before picking up the phone for the driver." St. James's Gate Brewery please." he would say and the driver would give a nod. "As for for your question." he paused for a moment. "We would like to see a single market where goods, services, money, and people can move more or less freely. Though of course with some way to track movement of course. We believe this will encourage peace as it will encourage economies to intermingle to the point that war or conflict would derail one's economy to the point of it being unthinkable. Though speaking of war and the like, we would also like to see military cooperation for dealing with outside threats as well as working together on peace keeping missions."

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At the sound of the destination, Minister Støre let loose an exclaimed, “Excellent!” While the limousine ride continued the discussion shifted to the ongoing summit. He listened to the Irish representative explain a position that he too held. “When the idea was in its infancy, we saw it as a way to strengthen Europe as a whole while making the idea of war against another member completely impractical. It will hopefully push nations to work out differences with one another without having to resort to tanks and bullets. Also with the use of monetary cooperative incentives, we can push for initiatives such as the reduction of pollution, poverty, and the like.”

“But when it comes to military endeavors, we never envisioned the European Union as a military organization. That’s not to say other alliances between member nations won’t be created out of the cooperation found here. But for the European Union itself, we would like to see it remain a civilian adventure. Now, Norway would love to cooperate with Ireland when it comes to military matters. We have always seen Ireland as a close ally. I feel both of our militaries would benefit greatly from increased cooperation. I would like to know how your military might feel about some joint military or naval exercises to get an idea of how well we might work together.”

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They nodded a little and considered what they had said "I see." He said as he adjusted in his seat a little."Perhaps military cooperation within the EU itself can be something discussed down the line after it has been well established. Afterall, such matters would require a framework to be built upon. Though I am glad to hear that you are in a simular opinion on how such an organization can deter war by making it impractical."

"As for joint exercises, we are indeed interested. However, we currently are in the midst of acquiring a navy so any joint exercise would have to keep that in mind. Otherwise, I believe a joint exercise focusing on peace keeping missions would be preferable."

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“I understand completely. We are currently refitting our Navy as well, not to mention all of the other branches of the armed forces. We don’t currently produce much in the way of domestic military hardware. But we do have a rather precise collection of Naval assets that we manufacture in Norwegian shipyards. As a sign of good faith and hopes of strengthening our relationship, we would like to make the full catalog available to your armed forces. I can give you a contact within our Ministry of Defense if you are interested.”

“I also wanted to inquire about your relationship with Great Brittian, especially in regards to Northern Ireland. I remember hearing about the troubles between your two nations years ago, but it seems these days things are mostly peaceful in this beautiful part of the world.”

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"The gesture is appreciated, though to be honest we do not have the budget currently for anything larger then patrol ships at this time. With the budget being stretched in multiple directions the building of our navy will be a slow but directed. However our plan is to source ships from European nations, as to support the market."

"The troubles are thankfully in the past, and we look to build a positive relationship with the United Kingdom. Much the same as we wish to build positive relations with the rest of Europe. Encouraging free trade and foreign investment. As for Northern Ireland, the current political climate is not suited for a push for reunification. It is up to the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland to decide when the time is right. However, this opinion is not equally shared. There are those that wish to make a hard push for unification by actively trying to convince the North to vote for it. A long shot I'd say."

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“A fascinating situation indeed. I had yet to learn that some parties were still actively pushing for unification. At least now the matter seems much more civil between all parties involved. We have heard talks about the political group “Friends of Sinn Féin”. I am interested to know your government's stance on the group. They seem harmless to me, but I have only seen their publicly available information. I know many citizens in Norway who might be interested in donating to their cause. I wanted to get your government's blessing before we allowed it.”

“Another topic I wanted to discuss was Trade. I know that things are sure to change with discussions had at the European Summit, but I figure it can't hurt to go over some initial talks. We are looking to become one of the largest suppliers of oil and petroleum in Europe, we want to help other nations break the hold that many middle eastern oil suppliers hold over many in Europe. We will however have a great need for food imports as our population continues to climb. What are the major exports of Ireland currently? What are some things you are hoping to import?”

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There was an awkward and somewhat long pause as they decided how to answer."Friends of Sinn Féin are a non profit organization that supports the political party Sinn Féin who are a a part of the opposition government to Fianna Fáil who I am a member of. The Organization is separate from the party so there is nothing wrong with people or governments donating to them, but their money will go directly to our opposition. If you want more information on them I would suggest speaking with them yourself. But, I can tell you all about my party and our plans for Ireland."

"I have to say that is rather ambitious. Currently however Ireland is not a major food exporter. It would take some serious work to change that. But what we do have is Pharmaceutical products, Organic chemicals, Optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus, Electrical, electronic equipment,mand Essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics, toileteries. Some of those exports of course are petroleum based products. I think we could work out a deal where you give us oil, and we turn it into those exports and ship them back to you. We are also looking into setting up a shipping company that can handle shipping for other countries as well as buying stakes in ports to manage this."

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He realized that he had stepped in it. Secretary Oskarsen realized it too. She relaxed a playful smile as she placed her palm of her squarely on her forehead. Minister Støre then quickly tried to find a way out of the faux pas he had clearly just made.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry Mr. Queally. I had no idea that they were formally supporting your opposition. But since the topic has been raised, I would love to hear about your party and its plans for the future of Ireland.”

“Nailed it.” he thought as Secretary Oskarsen let out a slight sigh.

“Back to trade, Whereas with crude oil we will have large facilities in which to get it out the ocean, we currently have nothing turning it into anything more useful. I do think we can work together with production and refinement. There are still many things to work out in the details, but once we are closer to the start of production, I’m sure we can hammer out a deal.”

“You see great minds think alike. The Norwegian Government has sponsored Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics in purchasing twenty vessels in order to help facilitate global shipping. We feel that global shipping is ready to explode with growth and have also tried to get in on the global shipping game. Our shipbuilders have already released plans for LNG transport ships and a new Ro-Ro vessel that might even have some military applications. If you are interested in buying new merchant vessels we would gladly come up with some estimates.”

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The air of awkwardness began to dissipate from the inside of the car."I'm glad you asked." He said with a smile pleased to move on from the topic of their political opponent."What we want to do is increase spending on health, housing and social welfare within Ireland. At least by one percent before the next election comes up. At the same time we want to invite foreign investment into Ireland and make investments in other nations ourselves. For instance, investing in and buying shares of foreign ports and allowing other nations to do so in Ireland as well. Our party seeks to keep the Republic of Ireland a neutral nation, and only use our military for defence and for peace keeping missions."

"It sounds like then we both have much to gain from setting up a trade agreement since we both lack something the other can provide. Before your visit in Ireland is over we can make a stop at the Ministry of Trade if you would like?"

"I think we would be very interested in making ship purchases for when we reestablish the Irish Shipping Company. Now is this shipping company of yours publicly traded? And does your government hold stake in it?"

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“Your political party is Fianna Fáil if I’m not mistaken. I myself am a member of the Norwegian Labour party. But it does sound like we have much in common regarding domestic matters. You mentioned buying shares of foreign ports. Do you have any particular ports in mind? We would certainly be interested in a warmer water port when most of our more northern ports are taken by ice. Which ports in Ireland would be open to foreign investment? International airport investment is also something my party is keenly looking into. Would you also allow foreign investment into Irish airfields?”

“I doubt we need to make a special visit to the ministry of trade on this current trip. I’m sure that others more qualified than myself will be ready to make those decisions once the European Summit has concluded.”

“Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics will be government back initially yes. We will be investing large amounts of resources into getting them started. Once they have started operations we do hope to take them public, offering many nations the chance to buy shares in the company. “

“I do tend to go on and on sometimes Mr. Queally. Is there anything you wanted to inquire about Norway?”

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"Glad to hear it, and what ever differences we do have we can smooth over without a doubt. Though, I shouldn't speak on their behalf you may find that Sinn Fein and other more left parties here in Ireland are more euro skeptic or euro critical. I only mention this because of the current ongoing European Union discussion. Regardless, onto your question. Yes, shares in our ports are available for purchase. All ports have shares available for purchase, but to name a few... Port Of Dublin, Port of Galway, Port of Shannon Foynes, Port Of Bantry Bay, Port of Cork, Port of Drogheda and Port of Waterford. Investment into Irish airfields is something we are open to."

"Ireland is interested in purchasing shares of the Port of Brest, Port of Vigo, Port of Gijon, Port of Leixões, Port of Milford Haven, Belfast Harbour, Grangemouth, Falmouth Docks, Douglas Harbour, Finnafjord Port, Port of Oslo Port of Aarhus, Port of Gothenburg, and the Port of GdyniaWe are primarily looking to get involved in Europe and strengthen the bonds of trade here first. Once thst company goes public we will most certainly investigate a investment."

"I do have some questions. What is Norway's stance on the direction France has been going? They seem to be taking a very isolationist turn which will no doubt hinder attempts to build a European Union. We recently went into negotiations with them in regards to a aircraft contract for our defence force, and suffice to say, it did not go well."

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“We are quite interested in the port of Cork. It seems that with its many diverse shipping terminals, it will be ripe for future growth and looks like an excellent investment. Also, the airport at Cork looks like a promising investment opportunity. I will have to check back with Cabinet to see what exactly they are looking to spend but would your government object to us using either of these ports for military use? There would obviously have to have agreements drawn up, but I just wanted to see if you were open to the idea. Likewise, you mentioned interest in the Port of Oslo, I can tell you that they are certainly looking for foreign investment in hopes of expanding the port. You should give my good friend Helga Pedersen a call. She is the current head of the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. They control all the operations of the ports along with finding financing for new projects.”

“The situation with the new government in France is an interesting one. They were one of the first nations that initially discussed the idea of the European Union. With the election of more isolationist politicians to their government, I do fear they will pull away from some of the ideas we are hoping to achieve.”

Secretary Alice Oskarsen was receiving live updates from the European Summit and looked at them worryingly. She showed them to Minister Støre during a break in the conversation. He frowned slightly and said, “It seems that the European Summit has been met with much less enthusiasm than expected. With the recent change in French politics, I fear that they will have to conclude the Summit without coming to any sort of agreement. Perhaps Europe is not quite ready for a Union at this time. Sad really.”

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"I think we can arrange for some military use of both those ports, but it will require and agreement of some sort. I believe we can arrange a rent deal once you have seen what your government is willing to expend to secure such a deal."

"We are currently working on establishing firm relations with France and hope to counteract their Eurosceptic direction by showing the benefits of positive relations with other European nations. While they are no longer going to pursue a EU, they might be inclined in the future when we have shown what the benefits are."

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“I would like to think that even if talks for a united Europe begin to stall that we would still be able to forge strong ties two our two nations. The European Union itself has no provision for military alliances, yet we are looking for other nations with whom we share like-minded goals for Europe to form military agreements. We are currently members of the Nordic Council, which is in itself a very strong military force. But the international stage has seen its fair share of wars in the past few years and it never hurts to have more friends. Close friends, that you can count on if things go sideways. Does the Irish government feel the same way? What would you be looking to gain from a military partner?"

It would seem that they were getting close to the end of their journey. The long trip to the St. James's Gate Brewery seemed to take ages. But the conversation and company were enjoyable enough. Minister Støre knew he had many more trips planned for the rest of the year. But he had hoped he could stay in Ireland a bit longer. He secretly stole a longing glance at Alice Oskarsen. His heart raced as he daydreamed about some downtime with just the two of them in a historic Irish Hotel. And a bottle of Kilbeggan.

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