Brazil Phone Call to Portugal

[Moe]

Minister of Foreign Affairs Juan deSilva stares at his iBook Mini, unsure of what to say. He takes a sip of his Chinaco Reposado Tequila on the rocks. He takes a Cuban Cohiba from the humidor on his desk, whips out a zippo lighter from his desk and slowly lights the stogie. He reads over the manuscript from the original messages with Portugal and the ones from the GA. He sighs deeply. He has his notes from President Romero as well as what he would like to be conveyed to the Portugese.

He stabs a button that is lighting up on his phone.

"Encrypted?" he asks.

"Yes, sir. All ready to go.

"Thank you. You can put it through."

He listens as the phone rings, his heart thumping a bit from the cigar and the fresh Tequila. When the phone is picked up he says, "Hello, this is Foreign Minister Juan de Silva of Brazil, I wish to so speak to Foreign Minister, Augusto Santos Silva. I will hold.

 

[Bruno]

The Phone-call would be picked up by the Office of the Foreign Affairs Department, and followed through to the Office of the Minister, the call would be taken privately and would be encrypted.

"Ahh, good afternoon Mr.Silva, it is a pleasure to talk to you, how are you at this time of day?" He would lean back on his chair while fumbling a few papers here and there while at the same time he would gesture to his aide to bring him a cup of tea to enjoy, as his mouth was dried.

 

[Moe]

"I am doing fine Mr. Silva. I have called as I believe it is unnecessary for our two nations to be on such cold terms. Relations got off on the wrong foot at the beginning of my governments tenure as we were just getting a feel of the international situation following the disastrous policies of the previous government. Relations with the Dutch are strong once again and warming with the British. We do not wish to have any enemies, as it is not good for business, however from the onset we wanted to make sure the world knew we would not be a pushover like the previous regime. Perhaps this is why we came off so aggressively at times. We believe it is time to back away from this stance. Consider this a conciliatory gesture."

 

[Bruno]

"I think the wrong foot its a very quaint way to put it, I would perfer stepping on a land mine." He would chuckle "Governments come and go, but actions do stay. However we do hope we can achieve a good relationship and a strong bond as Lusophone Nations. Perhaps enabling a trade agreement between our nations could be the next step. Or perhaps a State Visit. Unless you have something else in mind."

 

[Moe]

"I do not agree with that assessment. Perhaps as a member of ISAF, you are treated with Carte' Blanche. But Portugal, having an ambassador reach out to a sitting President is unconscionable, especially without even a FTA or normalized ties. It goes against all diplomatic protocols. Do ambassadors and presidents meet? Of course. But when starting a relationship should it not be on a Head of State level?

Perhaps this is part of the disconnect? We do not think in the same way as you. And perhaps, you think lower of Brazil.

I believe we need to have an ambassador to ambassador talk initially to get over this hump.

It could be in Lisbon or in Brasilia. Either way, the ball is now in your court."

@Fairhold

 

[Bruno]

"Well agree to disagree" He would chuckle "Well we certainly do not think of Brazil as lower nation, I don't believe anyone does think that. However I would very much like you to visit Lisbon, to show that both our nations are reconciling and rebuilding ties, as for the FTA it would be a simple and standard agreement at first. Do you agree?"

He would fax him a detailed FTA opening the Portuguese Market and Brazilian Market to a small quantity of goods from each nation.

"In the future we could then establish a Trade Agreement in which we trade a specific type of product we produce"

 

[Moe]

"I totally agree. We will move forward in small steps concerning trade. A basic FTA can certainly be assigned now. And I would be delighted to meet with you in your capital and discuss furthering of ties face to face. And I will bring a detailed economic proposal with me as well. The agenda can be sent within a day after I speak with my respective ministers. I would also like to bring my Foreign Minister Juan DeSilva with me for this trip, if that is ok? When do you have time to meet?"

@Fairhold

 

[Bruno]

"Splendid!" he would pause for a moment hearing the gentlemen proposal. "Hmm. It would be possible to meet on the 6th? It fits perfectly in my schedule, what about yours? Also the normal procedures would happen im sure, such as a press conference and the initial ceremonies correct?" He would again pause, waiting for the Brazilian Answering, he would sip a bit of his cold water.

 

[Moe]

"Excellent news. I will have my staff get everything in motion. We will leave within 24 hours. When we take off I will contact you personally. See you on the 6th."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 hours later at Brasilia International Airport an Embraer Lineage 1000 is fully fueled. On board are the President and Foreign Minister Oscar DeSilva. There is also a cyber tech on board to monitor all electronic communication and to fix any communication bugs. The Presidential Security staff of 8 are also on board. They are all wearing bullet proof vets and wireless communication devices and also cellphones with sim cards suitable on Portugese soil. They will be carrying X-95 Micro-Tavors inside their business suits. One 30 round clip will be in the gun and they will carry two extras on their person at all times.

Also at Brasilia International Airport is a KC-390 Embraer with extra fuselage tanks to make the long trip to Lisbon. Inside the only cargo is the Presidential Vinaxuki Armored Pickup 650X.

Once getting clearance from the control tower, the planes one by one, barrel down the runway and ascend into the orange dawn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Bruno]

"Thank you! See you on the 6th Mr.Silva"

---

The Airport of Lisbon, once the Brazilian Planes arrived, would give clearance from the control tower to descend, assigning two hangars from the two planes to be side by side. The Airport officials would help unloading the VIP Pickup, along side helping those aboard getting through customs. Noticing they had fire arms, they would ask the guards to issue a declaration of arms, detailing that they have weapons and will only use them if extremely necessary, they would also issue a pin to them, which meaning would only be known to them and the Portuguese VIP security, that they also had weapons.

After this, the VIP convoy would be waiting for the Brazilian President and Foreign Minister VIP transport to join them, to take them to the Palacio de Belem, where the President and his own Foreign Secretary would be waiting. Of course all other meeting would have concluded by now, so the President and the Secretary would be free. (MN Time and all that)

 

[Moe]

Pulling up to the Palacio de Belem, President Romero nudges Foreign Minister Oscar. "Pretty swank, huh?"

"Baroque style architecture happens to be a favorite of mine."

"Then why do you still live in a one room studio, albeit a spacious one?"

"Not President, yet."

The two share a laugh and the VIP convoy comes to a halt. A bodyguard gets out and opens the door, two more jump out and take the lead ahead of Oscar who gets out next and then followed by the President. The rest of the bodyguards also hop out and surround the President, but at a distance of about a meter.

The Brazilian team heads into the Palacio.

 

[Bruno]

The President and Foreign Minister would be waiting near the entrance, with a red carpet and Ceremonial Guards waiting for both dignitaries. Upon seeing the Brazilians, the guards would salute as a form of respect, while the President would exchange greetings.

"Welcome to the Portuguese Republic, it is very good to see you both here, was the journey good?" he would ask. Meanwhile the Band would be ready to play both nations anthems after the initial greetings have been done, if all went according to protocol. Both President would step infront of the Guards, flanked by both their ministers and both Anthems would play. First the Brazilian Anthem, then the Portuguese anthem.

Anthems

After each anthem had played, they would finally survey the ceremonial guards exchanging small talks between each other about life, after which they would be redirected towards the palace and into the Conference Room, where they would sit in two armchairs. The President would smile to his counter part while they were seated. Additional Seating would be made for both ministers with arm chairs also flanking both their Presidents.

The President would start speaking towards the Brazilian President.

"First of all, I'm joyous that you accepted to visit Portugal, and hope you feel as much as home as I feel when I visit Brazil. Hopefully we can reshape our relationship and our standings in the world."

 

[Moe]

"That is definitely the purpose of this visit. This will reshape our relationship as well as show that nations can overcome disputes and differences. And, yes I look forward to a visit from you as well. I hope we can discuss opening trades routes as well as import/exports. I am particularly keen on hearing your thoughts about importing Brazilian ethanol fuel. It is the worlds cleanest fuel used for autos and such."

@Fairhold

 

[Bruno]

After the President had finished speaking and giving a bit of silence break, the Chief of Staff would announce that two reporters would like to ask questions, which were pre-chosen in a random way. The first would be a international reporter and the second another international reporter.

The first would ask: "This one is for both leaders, do you believe Portugal and Brazil will reconcile and forge a new path after the diplomatic fallout made public in the previous emails?"

And the second would ask: "Given the constant turmoil in South America due to various outside interests does Brazil and Portugal view each other as future partners to safe guard the Atlantic region"

There would be a interval between both questions to allow both Presidents to answer, the Portuguese President would respond first, then the Brazilian.

"I do believe that question as already been answered by the actions of both countries, which are trying to fix this small bump in their relationship. If Brazil and Portugal were still not on diplomatic speaking terms, this visit could have never happen. However, it is happening which shows that both nations are determined in fixing some problems and moving fowards to a good relationship."

And the second question.

"South America as had its own problems as did Europe, as did the rest of the world. I do believe that Brazil and Portugal are key nations in safeguarding the Atlantic region, maintaining its peace and safety. As for the future, I strongly believe that Brazil and Portugal will create a lasting friendship. Based on mutual respect and cooperation between both nations."

 

[Moe]

The Brazilian President would answer the first question.

"Given that I am here on an official state visit, I think my presence here answers your question itself. As to the second part of your question, The emails you mentioned that was an erroneous report. Besides the fact that the report was made over two months ago and nothing has happened proves that point. Moreover, Brazil has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on cyber security, so the chances that there may have been a leak is "nil."

The President pauses to take a sip of water.

"To the second question I will answer the second part first. Yes, I believe Brazil and Portugal will make an excellent alliance in which to "safeguard", the Atlantic region as you say.

But I have two questions for you, sir. Whom would we be safeguarding the Atlantic from? Do you have a country or terrorist group in mind? Or, are you talking about military operations other than war, like a tsunami or a hurricane in which we could combine our naval assets and provide aid and assistance somewhere in the Atlantic? The question is quite vague, sir.

I also have a question about "the constant turmoil" in South America as you put it. Could you pinpoint exactly this turmoil with specific events? As President, I dealt with a major hurricane within a few weeks in office. And with the help of the Philippines, Argentina and Cuba, the clean up was completed within two weeks. I would be happy for you to point out other events that have caused turmoil either during or before my administration began leading my country, and I will try to answer your questions as honestly as possible."

 

[Moe]

With that, President Romero shakes the hand of the Portugese dignitaries and turns once again to the press corps.

"Thank you again for your warm welcome, but now it is really time for us to go."

President Romero is then whisked away to his presidential motorcade, bodyguards in tow, and makes a beeline for the Airport of Lisbon, where the Presidential Plane and the Embrarer KC-390 carrtying the Presidential Car, take off for Seoul.