Friends,
Many thanks to HS for the nomination, and my apologies for the delay in posting the agenda. By this point, most of you know who I am and how I generally approach the Minister of Foreign Affairs job. So I’ll keep this concise and focused on the government’s FA vision for the next term.
We’ve made substantial progress in strengthening our FA and NSGP presence this year. Nevertheless, there is much more still to be done, both internally to develop and train the next generation of FA talent and externally to build upon our existing partnerships and forge new ones. FA is inherently unpredictable, so it’s hard to fully map out the next three months in a pre-term agenda. But below are some of the key initiatives that I plan to undertake.
I’m happy to answer the Assembly’s questions, either about the below agenda or about our foreign policy more generally.
Structure and Organization
Since taking office as MoFA, I’ve identified building our Ambassador Corps as a priority. The good news is that we’ve had substantial success in attracting applicants to the program, so many in fact, that we have nearly run out of regions to which we can sent them! But with that success has come new challenges, namely that it’s hard for whoever is MoFA to keep up with the substantial day-to-day responsibilities of managing the Corps (e.g., processing applications, interviewing applicants, preparing dispatches for ambassadors to post, etc.) while also juggling their other responsibilities. To address this, I am very pleased to announce that @xshotss will be taking on the role of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs this term. In addition to helping to manage the Ambassador Corps, Shots will be added to the Foreign Affairs Committee to begin deepening his exposure to our FA policy making. (To address Pronoun’s question, the Deputy MoFA will not be delegated any statutory powers of the Prime Minister; I will ultimately approve all decisions that require an exercise of executive power (e.g., appointing or removing ambassadors)).
Relatedly, it’s been some time since the region has been apprised of the membership of our Foreign Affairs Committee, which is the chief advisory body to the PM and MoFA on FA issues. In addition to myself, this term’s FAC will comprise: @lordnwahs, @HumanSanity, @Utopia, @Heliseum, @ProfessorHenn, @Pronoun, @ConcreteSlab, and @xshotss.
World Assembly Initiatives
With the GA Reset and the election of the first Secretariat, we’ve entered a new age in the WA. I’m proud to have supported the successful election campaigns of two of our close allies–UPC and Merethin–to the Secretariat last term, and I look forward to TSP productively engaging with the new GA in the coming months. As Raven’s platform outlines, the Reset has created new opportunities, both for TSP authors to draft and enact resolutions and for us to partner with and support the legislative efforts of our friends and allies. Perhaps most significantly, the GA Sec election crystalized the fundamental reality that GA activities are inextricably intertwined with foreign policy. As such, both the PM and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate closely with OWL on its efforts, particularly in outreach to potential foreign supporters.
Relatedly, I look forward to collaborating with OWL to draft and pass Commends (or Condemns, as the case may be) for worthy TSPers. We have foreign friends who are prepared to help us enact TSP C/Cs, so we should be equally prepared to present compelling resolutions that merit their support.
Explore a New Security Council Treaty
Diligent readers of Cabinet nominations threads will notice that this topic heading is identical to one in my agenda from last term. And indeed, the description of this project below is nearly identical as well. I apologize for not moving this initiative closer to fruition last term, but a number of unexpected and pressing FA events intervened, most significantly the aforementioned GA Secretariat election. With those events now behind us, the government is fully re-committing to advancing this effort in the coming term.
The Partnership for Sovereignty, a multilateral Security Council voting bloc of which TSP was a member, was recently dissolved by unanimous vote. While it is never a happy event to see one of our longstanding treaties be repealed, it may present new opportunities. The PfS’s effectiveness had been limited for some time due to a combination of bureaucratic procedures, inactive members, and ideological differences over SC voting approach. The government intends to explore the possibility of creating a new defender-aligned SC voting bloc to replace the PfS, one that would address some of the underlying issues that led to the PfS’s dissolution. We have been in touch with some of our allies regarding this effort and have received generally positive feedback, but detailed negotiations have yet to commence. I will keep the Assembly updated as these discussions develop.
Strengthening Our Foreign Partnerships
One priority of my tenure as MoFA has been building friendly relations, both with our traditional allies and with regions with whom we may have not always seen eye to eye in the past. That will continue. It may sound simple and obvious, but it takes time and careful consideration to cultivate strong, trust-based diplomatic relationships. I’m proud to have opened an Embassy with The Outback in the past term, and I look forward to continuing to grow our relationship going forward. The government is currently pursuing multiple opportunities along these lines, though we are not yet prepared to share detailed updates.
Relatedly, as I pointed out in my last agenda, it has been nearly two years since TSP conducted a state visit with a foreign partner. With Nwahs cruising to a well-deserved re-election, now strikes me as the right time to consider one or more such visits. And I look forward to working with the PM and Minister of Culture on cultural events both large and small with a wide range of foreign friends.