International Magical Cooperation Roundtable Discussion
 

In a smaller courtroom on Level Ten (but by no means closet-like, more like comfy comzy), a shiny oval-shaped table made from walnut wood sits in the center of the room, surrounded by a series of chairs, all of which have had a adaptable cushioning charm placed upon them so that they accomodate for the individual sitting in the chair.

Against the walls are the built-in seating for the courtroom, where spectators who are employees of the Department of International Magical Cooperation will be allowed to sit and observe. But be sure to keep your chatting to a minimum - we don't want you to disturb the discussions of the foreign Ministers and the Department and Division Heads of the International Magical Cooperation Department.

Ministers should be arriving by secret portkey at any moment and then the first roundtable discussion of the conference will begin!

Kyra stood up quickly and shook the hand that was being offered to her. "Good Morning, Ms. Taylor." she said cheerfully. "I'm Kyra Jennings, Head of Broom Regulatory Control. Its a pleasure to meet you." With that said, she took her seat again, eager to get started.

Angelica made her way into the conference room feeling a bit out of place as she had just taken up her position as the new divison head of the Apparition Test Center a few days ago. The brown haired woman glanced around the faces seeing Ms Taylor the senior undersecretary along a few other divison and department heads who had gathered already. Seeing a woman that looked slightly familier Angelica walked over "Hello, Kyra is it, from the Broom divison on level 6?"

Reagan smiled and nodded, "Very nice to meet you, Ms. Jennings. Glad to have you with us." Reagan then took her seat near the middle of the oval table, opening her folder and laying out the two pages of notes that she had written pertaining to the issues to be discussed.

Reagan could smell the peanuts before she'd even looked up from her notes. With a grin on her face, she greeted him, "Ah, Chad! Good morning. Have you come to actually discuss our agenda? Or will you merely be serving as a human statue to spruce up the room?"

Reagan greeted the Department Head, "Good morning, Evaline. Good to see you again. The Minister's portkey is set to arrive any minute, so hopefully those who are missing will make it down here before he arrives. We really only have one major matter to discuss, so hopefully this meeting will run smoothly and efficiently."

Reagan's eyes grew a bit wider. Every bug she saw was making her paranoid. A fly landed on her finger last night and she nearly hexed her finger off! She didn't know if the bug she'd just seen was THE bug to look for, but she knew she wasn't going to take any chances. Quickly she scrawled on a piece of parchment paper before sending the memo off:

Quote:

Ms. Greenwood - I think the Ministry Security team should invest in Muggle mosquito nets for each of the entrances to the Ministry, in addition to the Level Ten entrances. This is a top priority. Thank you. - Reagan F. Taylor

Reagan had assumed this annoying pest of a woman wouldn't make herself present during these discussions. She detected that the woman had a flair for the dramatic and the show she clearly wanted to make of herself wouldn't be provided by these small group roundtables. But even so, they would be on the lookout, with wands (and bug nets) at the ready.

Chad laughed gently, shaking his head a little. He had missed this woman, dearly. "Oh, Mademoiselle, you tickle my funny bone," he mused, still chuckling a little. "Besides, who says that I can not do both? You know I make any room look good," he smirked as he ran a hand quickly through his hair, "I think it is my hair. C'est bon, non?"

Bhanuprasad Balasubramanium entered the conference room, looking around at the others who had already arrived.

"I am most sorry for my late arrival." He said, bowing politely to the group at large before moving to take a seat. The slight man found the chairs to be a little deeper and lower than was comfortable for him, so he performed a quick levitating charm on himself and hovered, fakir-style, a few inches above his chair in his seat. Ah, so much better. He folded his legs under him in the lotus position and waited for the conference to begin.

Bao Li strolled into the room without his Ministry-appointed security and took an open seat near Reagan (he liked sitting by the pretty women). "So no one answer my question again - who that ugly woman sitting on British Minister lap?" the Chinese Minister inquired and looked directly at Reagan. "You in charge. I can tell. Smart and beautiful woman."

He obviously didn't care that everyone was nervously sitting around the table and waiting for the discussion to begin.

"Please excuse me, but are we quite ready to begin?" Bhanuprasad Balasubramanium asked the room. He recognized the importance of the conference, but he also had personal obligations to which he must attend... all the wasted time was making him edgy.

Reagan stood and smiled when the Minister of India entered the room, "Welcome, welcome. Thank you for joining us. We're just about ready to get started." Reagan wondered for how long the man would be polite. These discussions often resulted in people getting excited and sometimes angry due to the passion for their positions.

Reagan pursed her lips together so as not to let a giggle escape. When she had composed herself enough, she greeted Bao Li, "Hello Minister Li. To answer your question, the woman who was sitting with the Minister," unfortunately on his lap and making our Ministry look foolish, "was his wife, Mrs. Clara Belle-Cooper. She's the co-editor in chief of the Daily Prophet, our news publication here in Britain." Reagan paused before clarifying the Minister's confusion about her, "And I am Reagan Taylor, Minister Cooper's Senior Undersecretary. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for joining us."

Reagan nodded and explained to Minister Balasubramanium, "Yes, we are ready to begin. Thank you for waiting so patiently, sir."

Reagan sat herself up straighter in her chair and glanced at her notes before beginning, "The matter that this group has assembled to discuss pertains to India's request that flying carpets be made a legal form of transportation here in Britain and in other countries in which it is currently banned. Minister Balasubramanium, would you like to make your statement for this change to the group?"

"And very good to meet you as well," Minister Balasubramanium said, nodding politely. "Yes, I am most pleased that you have all chosen to be joining me for this most important discussion. "

Rather than standing, he simply levitated higher in his position, not bothering to unfold his legs from the lotus position as he addressed the group.

"Our position is quite simple: there is no reason why flying carpet devices should not being authorized for magical transportation in your countries. They are very much known to be safe and our carpet craftsmen are well regulated to ensure highest quality carpets of only the finest fibers, highest threadcount and guaranteed magical safety measures in place including braking charms and even hover charms. Historical incidents that resulted in bans, including a lack of fireproofing charms, have been resolved in our current manufacture and current models are being very good for carrying of multiple persons or even wizards with cargo. Further, problems in steering and control resulting from carpets exhibiting free will as magical objects has, for most models, been eradicated with proper usage and care. We feel that this trade relationship being reopened is most beneficial of our communities mutually. Thank you."
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He lowered himself back down until he was just over his seat, folding his hands neatly in his lap. Truth was, his country needed trade relations reopened and badly; times were hard in India and harder still in the wizarding subculture. His people were suffering and the economic boost of carpet exports was vital to their survival. Most of the problems with carpets showing free will and revolting against owners had been resolved, as he had mentioned... the only problems existed when people abused their carpets, beating them to clean them instead of using gentle methods, not repairing tears and fraying, and so on. There was also the problem of woolen carpet shrinkage, which hadn't been totally resolved, but he wasn't going to delve into that unless confronted. They needed this trade agreement.