[TURKEY] The Doctor & The Minister

[Retroliser]

@NagandEmerald
Doctor Mason watched as his subordinates unpacked the various odds and ends required to set up shop in their new embassy, The Jewel Palace. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that the time was fast approaching noon. The desire for food would soon be making itself known, so what better than to enjoy more of Berlin's eateries, and continue discussions with German ministers. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he approached a nearby desk and lifted the receiver of a telephone that had just been connected up. After swiftly tapping in the phone number of The German Foreign Ministry, he waited patiently for an answer.

 

[NagandEmerald]

In only a moment, the receptionist answered with a cheerful disposition in her voice.
"Guten tag, you have reached the Federal Foreign Office. How may I help you today?"

 

[Retroliser]

"Guten tag, Fraulein," The doctor replied in an equally jovial tone. "Ich heiße Doktor Mason, der Türkische botschafter, und Ich möchte mit Herr Karsten Jürke sprechen, bitte."

 

[NagandEmerald]

"Natürlich, Doktor," the receptionist stated with a smile, hand already moving to the phone to transfer the call, "Lass mich dich zu ihm durchstellen." After asking for the doctor's patience, she put him on hold to transfer the call to the Foreign Minister's office. It took around 5 minutes for the minister to answer, primarily because he was in the middle of taking a quick power nap. Upon taking the phone in his hand, it was obvious by the way that he spoke that he was still tired, but he attempted to cover it up with a polite tone.

"Guten tag. Das ist Karsten Jürke," he politely greeted.

 

[Retroliser]

"Hello, old chap!" Doctor Mason greeted in German. "Sorry to bother you, but I saw lunch was coming up and I thought I'd invite you out to dine with me, my treat. If you're busy, we can meet at the Café Kalwil, which is literally across the street for the foreign ministry, you've probably noticed it by now anyway. If that's not too inconvenient for you, shall we meet there in fifteen minutes?"

 

[NagandEmerald]

Upon hearing Doctor Mason's voice, the foreign minister smiled and confirmed that he'd be there within 10, setting down his papers as soon as he gave his goodbye and making his way downstairs for the quick jaunt over to the café.

 

[Retroliser]

Humming in delight at his success, the doctor hung up and fetched his cloak. The weather in Berlin had become chillier by the day, but nothing that, to him, was a cause for worry. With his body wrapped up warm and concealed from the elements, he stepped outside of The Palace that was now his workplace and took a stroll across the bridge that separated his embassy from Karsten's ministry. Upon arrival, he found the minister was already there. Which was no surprise, since the cafe was across the street. The doctor extended his hand and shook his counterpart's firmly.

"Good afternoon, sir!" He greeted cheerfully. "How are things? I trust The Kaiser's not working you too hard?"

 

[NagandEmerald]

"I wish I could say that was the case, my friend," Karsten stated rather bluntly, but in a pleasant tone, "I think I'll take your advice from earlier and set myself up with some extra furnishing in case I need to sleep in the office."

 

[Retroliser]

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that," He replied with a slight frown. "Regardless, I apologise for possibly ruining the atmosphere, but I'm not here just to give you a good reason to get away from the office. I'm here because there are a few things that I'd like to discuss with you informally that will be the first steps towards closer relations between Turkey and Germany. Does that intrigue you?"

 

[NagandEmerald]

"Of course it does. But first, let me at least have something to eat before we discuss," the Minister pleaded with his compatriot, already certain that he wanted something light, like a bagel with cream cheese.

 

[Retroliser]

"Naturally, here's a menu," The doctor replied, while passing the minister a menu. "With a man as busy as yourself, I would suggest something hefty. After all, from what you've described regarding your duties, it makes me wonder when you'll have the opportunity to eat a proper meal again. Perhaps some Käsespätzle? I know that's what I'm having. Maybe some Nuernberger sausages, mashed potato and sauerkraut, topped off with mustard? Something warm, heavy on the stomach and filling. The last thing you need is to be struck down in severe hunger pains. When you reach THAT level of hunger, you are practically useless to everyone. Tremors, nausea and loss of balance, they're symptoms that I would rather you did not get."

 

[NagandEmerald]

"Starting to sound like my own doctor. Is there any way I could convince you could give me cheaper checkups?" Karsten jested, before clearing his throat and moving swiftly on towards the heftier items.

"I suppose the Nuernberger sausages, mashed potatos, and sauerkraut would be a nice, hearty meal then."

 

[Retroliser]

"Well, I could give you a checkup, if you so desired," Doctor Mason mused. "But not at the moment. For now, we dine like princes. As for the Nuernbergers, I think that's a good choice. Plenty of carbohydrate in the potato to keep you going. I'm definitely sticking with the Käsespätzle."

With a wave of his wrist, the doctor summoned a waiter and gave his order. The server then turned towards Karsten to hear what he had decided.

 

[NagandEmerald]

Karsten decided to keep to what he stated he wanted: the Nuernbergers with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. While there wasn't much else, he also asked for a glass of water in order to re-hydrate himself. He then turned back to Doctor Mason and cleared his throat.

"So, while we wait for our food, what exactly did you have in mind for closer relations with Germany and Turkey?"

 

[Retroliser]

"Well, the first thing is the possibility of establishing trade links." He replied. "Turkey has many things available for export that would be of use for you. For example, Germany is a proud manufacturer of motor vehicles. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, Opel and Audi. Turkey has plentiful supplies of iron, which we turn into steel domestically. That steel could be used for German car bodies and other parts. In addition, we have oil, which could be processed into plastics that would be used for car dash boards and other interior components. Next, we have great stocks of raw textiles... Wool, cotton and silk. While some of these are not suitable for the upholstery in a car, such as silk, the others could be used to craft the seats and so forth.

That's not all. That same steel can be used in the crafting of electronic goods and machinery. We also have copper, chrome, gold, barium and boron, all of them are metals that are used in the manufacture of such things. From cables to circuit boards, we have the materials German manufacturers can use to ply their trade."

The doctor fell silent for a moment to let the opening statement sink in.

"Now, that's all well and good, but where do those finished products go, other than to the domestic market?" He asked rhetorically. "My dear fellow, Turkey is a perfectly good market for you to get your teeth into. After all, German motorcars are known world-wide. It is beyond a doubt that the average Turk would definitely consider purchasing one, if they were available. As for the machinery and electronic products, it is equally beyond any doubt that there will be Turkish customers for such goods. The two countries can create a self-perpetuating circle. Turkey supplies the raw materials, German expertise turns them in high quality products. They are then sold to Turks and Germans alike. Everyone's a winner."

 

[NagandEmerald]

Karsten listened intently to the offer, taking in every word as he took a sip of his drink, which had finally been brought to him. An inquisitive "hmm" made it known that he was seriously considering the offer.

"And what of the military market? As far as we're concerned, while our civilian market is important, our military market should be equally as important, and be fulfilled as well."

 

[Retroliser]

"Our steel more than adequate for the production of weapons," The doctor mused. "Which actually brings me to something that I've been meaning to ask, but haven't found the opportunity to ask. My government has been attempting to rebuild the armed forces after it collapsed in the face of the republican downfall. Unfortunately, we were reliant on foreign equipment, mainly American, to equip our armed forces. The monarchist government is a bit more pragmatic about where it gets its weapons. It has already been able to finalise contracts for military equipment with another European nation, however they lack certain items that we are in need of. To be specific, they lacked a proper general purpose machine gun.

However, Germany is a country that has had a long and notable history in both warfare, and the tools necessary to wage it. As such, you have a sizeable list of weapons that the Turkish government can choose from. The decision they made was to enquire whether it was possible for Turkey to purchase a large amount of MG3's."

 

[NagandEmerald]

"Ah...well, that's not necessarily my call to make. As far as a general purpose machinegun goes, I cannot say that I am the one to ask for that. I am currently unaware of the status of Rheinmetall and its subsidiaries, but as far as I am aware, His Majesty plans to nationalize the various arms companies of Germany for the purpose of having the government be solely responsible for its own armed forces arms production and the subsequent research. Until such a time, such a question would be better-shot at Rheinmetall."

 

[Retroliser]

"Of course, but it's always polite to inform the domestic government about such things," Doctor Mason remarked. "After all, you may object to your private defence contractors accepting orders from a particular nation."

 

[NagandEmerald]

"Indeed. Regardless, I do appreciate the offer, and I will keep it in mind, but for now, I will discuss on the prospect of a free trade agreement with the Reich Chancellor and His Majesty, I think, however, that it should work just fine as far as a free-trade agreement goes." Karsten gave a quick grin before watching his food arrive, thanking the server and digging into his meal. It wasn't much, but it might keep him going for a few more hours at least.