Dundorf

[TheNick]

Gimbel, Hagsburg and Krancke Fly to Egelion to Discuss Trade

May 5689

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Federal Chancellor Freda Gimbel (NDZP)

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Altéa, Egelion - Federal Chancellor Freda Gimbel (NDZP), accompanied by Deputy Chancellor Leonie Hagsburg (KBP) and Foreign Minister Gunther Krancke (TLD), completed a two-day long official visit to the Kingdom of Egelion where officials from both countries discussed and finalized a trade deal. The trio met in Egelion's capital with Andrea Mondragon y Astures, the Egelian Royal Councillor for International Affairs, and Teresa Cascabel, the Councillor for Economics and Trade. Sources from both the Dundorfian and Egelian delegations described the meeting as "cordial" and "very productive"; one source close to Chancellor Gimbel said that the Federal Chancellor "highly enjoyed" the professionalism of the Egelian counterparts.

The trade deal finalized by the two countries is about an exchange of natural resources: Dundorf will export Silver extracted by the Nationales Bergbaukonglomerat (NBK) to Egelion, through the port of Ikradun Island and via air cargo, while our country will import from Egelion Rare Earth Metals, a highly needed resource in sectors such as tech, automotive, defense and also clean energy (like solar panels and most importantly wind turbines). The CEO of Mainbaum-Bain, Gunther Andreas Dahl, Dundorf's top car manifacturer, said: 

We strongly endorse the Federal Government's trade deal. It will allow our sector to dive deeper into the market of electrical vehicles: we already produce EVs, but import prices for REMs is so high that it makes our cars less competitive in an international market. Our hope is to lower prices for Dundorfian EVs and make this sector competitive again for Dundorf after decades of decaying.

This trip represents the center-right cabinet's first major involvement in foreign affairs and international trade, after the successful term of Lorena Oberlitz (DSDP) as Foreign Minister. This week's trip was meant as a signal to the political establishment and the world that the NDZP-led center-right coalition is capable of managing Dundorf's international ties as well as the DSDP-led coalition, which is historically more internationalist, can. Oberlitz, who prior to be the Foreign Minister (and Deputy Chancellor) in the previous cabinet served also as the Federal Chancellor, is planning a comeback by running in next year's direct Presidential election, representing the Social-Democratic Party. Analysts and pundits agree that Internationalism and foreign policy is one of her strongest policy areas, and the center-right coalition's objective seems to "steal" some of the spotlight she currently enjoys on this theme, in order to make the Presidential Election more competitive. One way to do that is to appear united as a coalition at a international meeting and cutting a very favorable deal that could revive a sector that defined Dundorf's economy for centuries.