[Sweden]: Message to the Netherlands

[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration

Security Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Document Classification and Security Act 1995
Encrypted by the Swedish Security Service​

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To whom it may concern,

I write this correspondence to you firstly in congratulations to the recent appointment of your government and cabinet. The fight, or much rather campaign, into the offices of central government is no easy battle to win however is most certainly a positive motion to change, economic growth and a strong and prosperous future - I commend your strength and courage.

As part of your recent political outcome I would like to extend the hand of Swedish friendship across the waters between us and arrange for a bilateral meeting, I personally believe that Sweden and the Netherlands could thrive with better cooperation between us. The best way to get the wheels turning is to sit down face-to-face and discuss what really troubles each of us and how we can work together to achieve the best possible outcome for our relations. I don't want to explore too deeply into objectives for the meeting by means of correspondence as it makes for a very tiresome, almost robotic, meeting... however I would very much like for us to sit down to see what the future holds.

I very much look forward to your response.

Regards,
Annika Markovic
Swedish Ambassador to the Netherlands
Department of Foreign Affairs

@Dutchy

 

[Dutchy]

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Private & Encrypted​

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To: Annika Markovic, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden
Cc: -
Subject: -

Dear Amabssador Markovic,

We thank you for this message of congratulations and wish to extend our own well wishes to your government. Campaigning is a long and exhausting process, though it is always a rewarding to gain the people's faith.

We agree that cooperation between our two nations would be mutually beneficial, which is why we would be eager to hold a meeting between representatives of our two governments. In order to ensure the proper officials would be present at this meeting, are you willing and able to give a brief overview of the topics which are to be discussed?

Yours Sincerely,
Maximiliaan Theunissen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of the Netherlands

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✆ +31 070 348 6486​

✉ buza@rijksoverheid.nl​

■ Rijnstraat 8, The Hague​

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[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration

Security Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Document Classification and Security Act 1995
Encrypted by the Swedish Security Service​

---

Dearest Maximiliaan Theuissen,

Thank you for getting back to me in respect to bilateral cooperation, your enthusiasm is certainly a refreshing emotion to see when it comes to developing international relations, something that many nations fail to provide.

Whilst our meeting agenda would vary slightly depending on the representative present and the subject matters discussed amongst it would definitely be the enhancement of our diplomatic missions, maritime safety and security, migration/immigration and judicial cooperation. This is quite literally skimming the surface of discussions, I must stress that this is the starting point of our relationship and unlike many other nations you're likely to encounter in the international arena Sweden is dedicated to developing bespoke relationships built on trust and friendship rather than financial greed and power.

I can see relations between us going far, I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Annika Markovic
Swedish Ambassador to the Netherlands
Department of Foreign Affairs

 

[Dutchy]

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Private & Encrypted​

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To: Annika Markovic, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden
Cc: -
Subject: -

Dear Amabssador Markovic,

We are pleased to hear of your willingness to put time and effort into our relationship and I can guarantee that we are willing to match that motivation.

Your list of topics encompasses quite a range of ministries and would require a large delegation to be present in order for meaningful discussions to take place. I wish to present the following proposal, that you and I meet in order to hold preliminary discussion on issues which cooperation could prove to be beneficial to both our nations. After the conclusion of these discussions we can each return to our governments in order to reflect on the outline of future bilateralism. We can then schedule a joint summit between various ministers of our cabinets meet in order to finalise the details.

If your government has no objections to this process, then I wish to invite you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to meet with me in person.

Yours Sincerely,
Maximiliaan Theunissen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of the Netherlands

---

✆ +31 070 348 6486​

✉ buza@rijksoverheid.nl​

■ Rijnstraat 8, The Hague​

---

 

[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration

Security Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Document Classification and Security Act 1995
Encrypted by the Swedish Security Service​

---

Dear Maximiliaan Theuissen,

I can see real progress being made between our states and I certainly see a joint summit as a result of our outreach being a significant forward step into a strong and prosperous future between Sweden and the Netherlands.

Having been in discussions with the Swedish Secretary of Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström we both agreed that in the first instance it's probably most appropriate for me, on behalf of the DoFA, to attend these preliminary discussions. Ms Wallström did want to express that this is by no means an act of disrespect but much rather allows for me, as the Ambassador for Sweden to the Netherlands, to build my rapport with your government before our joint summit in the near future - in which I can assure you that Secretary Wallström is very enthusiastic to be apart of.

I shall make the arrangements with the appropriate people within my office and will see you very soon.

Yours,
Annika Markovic
Swedish Ambassador to the Netherlands
Department of Foreign Affairs

 

[Dutchy]

---

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Private & Encrypted​

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To: Annika Markovic, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden
Cc: -
Subject: -

Dear Amabssador Markovic,

I am pleased to hear you are willing to engage in these preliminary discussion and I take no disrespect as this is the most efficient manner in which to proceed.

I look forward to meeting you at your earliest convenience.

Yours Sincerely,
Maximiliaan Theunissen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of the Netherlands

---

✆ +31 070 348 6486​

✉ buza@rijksoverheid.nl​

■ Rijnstraat 8, The Hague​

---

 

[Connor]

Following discussions with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maximiliaan Theunissen, from the Kingdom of the Netherlands it was time to develop a relationship from the ground up and with such came great responsibility on the shoulders of the Swedish Ambassador to the Netherlands Annika Markovic. Within her office at the Swedish Embassy she would gather selective aides who were responsible for the production and presentation of a short agenda for the meeting in The Hague - she would be travelling alone in order to ensure her rapport building went uninterrupted, especially with the Swedish Government treating their Ambassadors as the gatekeepers for bilateral negotiation, relation building and general development between states.

Annika summons a taxi to collect her from her officer, bound to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with her she would carry a small black leather conference folder with the Swedish coat of arms emblazoned on the front, inside this are the documents necessary for the meeting and a small notebook for the discussions.

As she steps from the taxi, upon arrival, she would pay her stated fare through the drivers window before walking confidently into the foyer and towards the reception. She would remove her passport from her purse and politely interrupt the receptionist from their current commitments.

"Hello, excuse me sorry, I am from the Swedish Embassy here to see Minister Theunissen?"

 

[Dutchy]

The receptionist looked up from her monitor with a friendly smile as she responded in fluent English, "Good afternoon, one moment please as I verify your appointment. May I please have some identification?" She expertly typed away at her keyboard as she checked the details. With no discrepancies appearing she printed a visitors badge before signalling to an officer from the Diplomatic Security Service.

The officer escorted the Ambassador to the security turnstile, where her visitors badge registered her passing. The ambassador was led up to the office of the Minister where he was already waiting as the receptionist had called up announcing the arrival of the Swedish Ambassador. The Minister reached out to shake her hand, "Ambassador, thank you for coming so quickly. Please come in." As the officer from the DSS remained outside, the Minister led her into his office where he gestured her to take a place near the window where two sofas were located across from each other with a low coffee table separating them. "Can I offer you something to drink before we begin?"

 

[Connor]

Annika smiles sweetly after showing her diplomatic passport and taking her visitors pass, she thanks the receptionist for her help, "Thank you so much" before placing her passport away into her purse.

She modestly stomps through the security turnstile in company with the security personnel, the clap of her heels on the hard floor echo through the room before continuing through the doors of the office towards the Minister.

"Your Excellency, it's a pleasure to be here, thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me!" the Ambassador takes the hand of the Minister returning a firm handshake before gently releasing again and making her way further into the room, her eyes glance around the office to take in her surroundings before taking a seat as prompted by the dutch. "I would really love a tea if that's possible? Just milk, no sugar?" - Annika removes the purse strap from her right shoulder and tucks it next to her on the sofa, shortly followed by her laying the black conference folder onto the thighs.

"Your office is gorgeous, I've never ventured into the Ministry before..." she chuckles gently.

 

[Dutchy]

The Minister nods to his secretary who had remained standing at the door, she promptly left closing the door behind her to retrieve the beverage requested by the Ambassador. The meeting would remain private with no other parties present other than the Ambassador and Minister. "I must agree, it is a comfortable place to work and I'm enjoying it profusely even though I've only just moved in. I do hope that this will be one of many visits to come," he says with a broad smile.

Proceeding with the usual pleasantries the Minister asks, "How are you?" After receiving a response he continues, "As we wait for your cup of tea, may I ask when you were appointed to the position of ambassador here in the Netherlands?"

 

[Connor]

Annika subtly clears her throat before crossing one leg over the other, clutching her folder with both hands to stop it falling onto the floor.

"I am brilliant thank you, I've just moved out of my old apartment and into a beautiful house in De Rivieren, my new neighbours are fantastic and so welcoming! - How about yourself, are you well?" She smiles, showing genuine curiosity.
"Oh I've been Ambassador for..." Annika ponder briefly "I can't remember exactly but I've been here for a couple of years now, my past is primarily in the DoFA focusing on the implications of the dissolution of diplomatic missions abroad..."

"Tell me, what's at the top of your agenda now you're the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I'm curious so see where you want to take the Netherlands"

 

[Dutchy]

"That's wonderful to hear, we Dutch always try to be as welcoming and accommodating as possible. I am doing well, though rather exhausted due to the lack of sleep at the moment. The last few days have been hectic as I take the reigns of this Ministry."

The Secretary slowly enters the room, carefully balancing a tray carrying the beverages. She places a cup of hot water on the coffee table in front of the Ambassador, placing a box containing a variety of flavours next to it. Aware of the Ministers usual drink order. she proceeds to place a cup of black coffee in front of the Minister. Having delivered the drinks she slowly backed out of the room, leaving the two officials to talk. "Well, it is this governments priority to reach out to the major players in Europe to ensure we can kickstart positive bilateral relations. Once we have secured our first friendships we will begin outreach programs on all continents in order to expand our diplomatic influence. However, Europe will always remain our focus as we attempt to increase European multilateralism."

 

[Connor]

"I can imagine there's a lot to manage when you take over with a fresh ideology and a fresh mind... there's repairs to be done as there is with any new job but then you have the opportunity to grow into new avenues where previous governments haven't dared to tread."

"Ah that's marvellous, thank you so much" she smiles to the secretary before delicately selecting a tea from the options and placing it into the mug of water. The ambassador allows the tea bag to soak in the water before continuing with the conversation.

"European relationships are often overlooked with the major players tending to gravitate towards those on the global scale such as the USA, Russia and China... it's refreshing to see power being retained inside the continent and friendships being built close to home where they genuinely matter and genuinely make a difference. In Sweden we are focused on making Europe a safer place to be as a whole, particularly in the context of civilian side of the economy, this will naturally make our continent a much more valuable asset to those worldwide looking at Europe for inspiration, trade and even immigration... I can imagine your focus is purely on the stability of the Netherlands at the moment? and the establishment of relationships? but I'm curious to hear if you have any imminent plans outside of the walls of foreign affairs?"

 

[Dutchy]

"While it of course remains important to keep positive relations with the global superpowers, we feel that a Europe united in the aim of peace and stability could become a major player on the international stage and promote dialogue and diplomacy over conflict and war."

"Well, while internal matter fall outside of my portfolio, it is essential that this government rebuilds our armed forces to ensure we are capable at defending our borders both in Europe and the Caribbean. Restructuring and expanding our security and emergency services is another crucial goal in protecting our society. We will of course also be focusing on maintaining our Delta infrastructure, as we cannot have a repeat of the 1953 North Sea Flood. In terms of our economy we will be promoting the Netherlands as a hub of business, with an open and free market for corporations to settle themselves. I'm sorry I cannot be more specific, but most of our policies are still concepts and the various ministries will be expanding on them in the coming months in preparation for the 1996 budget."

"Would you be willing to inform me of your governments plans and policies both internal and external?"

 

[Connor]

"Oh that's undeniable, the superpowers are quite literally responsible for managing the global arena, at least at the moment. I can certainly see international organisations and alliance treaties taking some of the might from these superpowers, after all there is power in numbers - I can't agree with you more that dialogue is so important but this is so often overlooked for greed or the hunt for blood. Eye for an eye seems to take precedent over face-to-face discussions."

Annika lifts her tea bag from the cup before taking a quick sip to test the flavour, eye eyes darting up in order to respond to the Ministers questions - she unzips her conference folder as she speaks and allows for the paperwork to be visible to herself from within.

"Oh absolutely - I've lived here for a while now and have been the key point of contact for conversation bilaterally between Sweden and the Netherlands. It's worked rather well and I know the Löfven Administration intend to use the Bureau I sit within to really build a one-to-one rapport locally so I can really invest the opinions and feelings of the Dutch into Swedish foreign affairs policy. I take interest in your domestic policies as it can quite often be a catalyst for cross-border initiatives which is something we're definitely interested in developing in the near future..."

"Sweden at the moment is coming to the end of the Defence Reorganisation and Development Project which is a piece of work ensuring that not only do we have the military infrastructure required to defend ourselves but also ensuring that our airspace, waterways and borders are strengthened with specific personnel deployments nationally... this has gone unbelievably well and Sweden currently has in-place a sophisticated airspace defence network by combination of Swedish Army and Swedish Air Force. In addition to this we're currently looking at the Maritime Safety Initiative with cooperation between both the DoJ and DoD, we're strengthening civilian enterprise within Sweden by encouraging international involvement and we're focusing on the necessity for modernisation across various networks in Swedish society from transportation to healthcare."

"In terms of external policy we're definitely looking into the necessity to enhance European affairs and hopefully roll out of Maritime Safety Initiative throughout the continent with the help of other neighbours, friends and allies... in addition to this I personally am really looking at the diplomatic mission network we currently have globally and look at how this can be secured further than just word of mouth and the power of international law. We want our diplomatic missions to be bespoke and a real show of friendship within a state, afterall it's a monument to our people and a place of safety for those in need abroad."

 

[Dutchy]

"I'm glad to hear that Sweden is now in a position in which it has the ability to defend its citizens. I am also pleased to see the proactive policy of your government when it comes to serving the interests of you people."

"I can say that we will be using the next couple of months to finish government policies and prepare the financial report for the Queen's Speech in September, we will be able to announce the details at that time." The Minister taking a sip of his still hot coffee before glancing at the ambassadors conference folder. "Shall we begin talking about points on which your government seeks to cooperate?"

 

[Connor]

"Absolutely, I guess I'll carry on from the point of diplomatic missions abroad... currently we have a network of property within the Netherlands namely our embassy in The Hague with supporting consulate in Amsterdam, Groningen and Rotterday - at the moment there's nothing in writing other than the generic international law, which governs the use, operation, security and management of these sites. Something I certainly want to negotiate is the possibility of stationing Swedish Security Service personnel to these sites and of course we will reciprocate to enable or even supply protection of your own sites"

Annika takes another sip of her tea before going on.

"I know what you're thinking and before you jump to the conclusion that this is to protect us from Dutch attack, it is not, political opinions run high amongst civilians and it's fundamental that we secure our premises and ensure the safety of Swedish nationals seeking services"

 

[Dutchy]

The Minister took another sip of his coffee before the topic turned serious. "We have no issue with the deployment of security personnel to your diplomatic missions, however this government is not very keen on allowing weapons to be imported by diplomatic missions. We do however understand your security concerns, which is why our Diplomatic Security Service, which is part of the National Police, provides 24 hour on-site external security. We deploy ten officers to embassies and five officers to consulates and consulate-generals."

"We can always heighten this security detail if treats against your missions are obtained or your government requests extra security to be provided."

 

[Connor]

"I can appreciate foreign security personnel bringing firearms into your country is naturally of concern to you, this is something we're looking to implement as law enforcement officers within Sweden are routinely armed, with that comes an obvious level of training that perhaps we could discuss on meeting to the same level? We would be happy to enrol our officers in a Dutch firearms certification?"

Notes are taken throughout the discussion, ensuring key points are noted to be relayed to the DoFA if further discussions are required.

 

[Dutchy]

"I'll have to discuss this with the rest of the cabinet, as we are preparing a draft bill in order to remove various types of weaponry from diplomatic missions in the Netherlands. I can also relay that at this time, officers from the Diplomatic Security Service deployed to diplomatic missions in Sweden are not armed."