Kalistan

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Ananto Looks to the South
Another Glimmer of Light in Aldegar
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
July 8, 5597


Foreign Minister George Bennots becomes First Kalistani Official to visit Aldegar since Nicolette II

It's been 86 years since any public official from Kalistan visited Aldegar, the mythical isthmus nation in central Selaya.  There have been numerous interactions between Kalistan and Aldegar since then, but many of them have been fairly negative.  Her Imperial Majesty Empress Carolina I Ananto aims to change by dispatching Her Foreign Minister, George Bennots to Aldegar.  Her hope is that Kalistan and its southern neighbor can begin repairing their relationship along similar lines that Kalsitan and Luthori did earlier in her reign.

"Her Imperial Majesty instructed me to meet with the Government of Aldegar, whom we have had very little official contact with over the past four generations," said Her Imperial Majesty's Foreign Minister, George Bennots.  "Following The Empress Nicolette II Ananto and Prince Consort Bjorn's honeymoon visit to the Kingdom, Aldegar and Kalistan had a brief, but very good relations, as Aldegar not only sent more than a half dozen of its bands to Kalistan at the last GanJam to be held in Kalistan, which inspired a short Aldegarian Music phenomenon in Kalistan, but also hosted the Olympic Games 20 years later that Kalistan was an enthusiastic participant in. We hope to potentially rekindle good relations again between our two nations as her Imperial Majesty's focus shifts back to Seleya."

Once in Aldegar and presenting his diplomatic credentials, following required security checks, a delay of a few days, and polite and correct treatment by Minister Bennots' government escorts, Foreign Minister Bennots was introduced to the current Aldegarian President, Fatima Muradova, who graciously received him in the Capital Ramsāhreza.  The President spoke first, welcoming Mr. Bennots to Aldegar, and asking him how his stay was so far.  Through his interpreter, Foreign Minister Bennots conveyed Her Imperial Majesty's greetings and wishes for improved relations between the two countries.  The President nodded her head and reiterated that Aldegar is friendly toward those who are friendly to Aldegar, and noted that Aldegar maintains excellent relations with both Gaduridos and Lodamun.

The next hour was spent in conversation between the two, as they both tried to nail down a firm impression of one another.  Mr. Bennots came away from the meeting optimistic.  "I was sent by Her Imperial Majesty to more or less say hello to our neighbors, who we haven't really spoken much with for a half a century.  I discharged that duty soon into the conversation.  The rest of the meeting, we were sizing each other up."

When asked for his thoughts on President Muradova, Foreign Minister Bennots said, "I think she is someone Kalistan can do business with.  She is intelligent, witty, and very polite.  She explained Aldegar's interests to me, and some of her viewpoints were ones I had not had the opportunity to hear before.  She is interested in trade, and she is I think as interested in regional security as we are.  She is obviously concerned about situation between Xsampa and Beiteynu, and is watching the Solentian situation closely.  We spoke about the recent visit by Kundrati's diplomats, and I had to explain Her Imperial Majesty's position on that situation.  She listened, but I don't know if Her Imperial Majesty's arguments influenced her much.  I wouldn't expect so.  Aldegar pursues its own interests, as Kalistan does, and I wanted to try to stress where we might have overlapping, and therefore mutual interests."

When asked if he got anything for the Empire out of the discussion, Foreign Minister Bennots laughed and shook his head.  "No, it wasn't that kind of meeting.  I wasn't dispatched here to try to make any deals.  This was more like the first part of a phone conversation, the 'Hello you, this is me' part.  My mission here was to pass one simple message from Her Imperial Majesty:  We want to try to get to know Aldegar better.  They are our neighbors, they obviously play a key role in both the economy and the security of the Continent.  Our relations have decayed for decades until there was nothing left.  Her Imperial Majesty would like that to be different, and it is our hope that after meeting several more times, we can finally come to a place where we could be friends with Aldegar someday too.  It will take a while, of course, but Her Imperial Majesty is committed to working together with our neighbors, and she would like to repair the relationships in Seleya that the Empire's focus on Artania have distracted us from."

When asked if the Foreign Minister invited the President to send a representative to Kalistan for the next visit, he responded in the affirmative.  "I think Her Imperial Majesty is quite curious about Aldegar.  It is kind outside of her world, but only just.  She spends so much time focused on Ananto and the lands surrounding it that Aldegar holds a fascination for her.  I think she would like to meet Aldegarians, and learn about them and their culture, and outside of that bit of personal fascination, there are a number of very important issues of trade in the Aldegarian Gulf and Canal, and security that we really do need to put some time into.  The Third Fleet regularly cruises into the Schismatic Sea out of Bentasur, and besides ensuring that we don't run into Aldegarian fleets, there may also be some joint patrol opportunities there which we miss out on because we just haven't been talking."

The Foreign Minister didn't say whether Aldegar would visit Kalistan next.  "It's an open invitation," said Bennots.  Following the stay in Aldegar, Foreign Minister Bennots returned to Sulari where he was interviewed, before boarding a flight to Kaliburg, to make his report.  It was widely believed that Bennots might travel instead into Mordusia, but that portion of the trip was indefinitely postponed because of scheduling conflicts in Mordusia.  "A visit in Mordusia may still be on the table," said Bennots, "but not this month.  We just couldn't find a mutually convenient time to put the trip together, that's all."

@TheRepublic