Alex finished off his salad and took a drink before responding. “Technology only gets you so far. We’ve made some great strides in Valleria, but ensuring that all the food you grow gets to everyone who needs it is the real challenge.”
“Valleria’s technological advancements are the talk of the industry. We’ve been keeping an eye on them.”
Alex smiled slightly. “That sounds almost ominous how you said that.”
Kihan chuckled. “I didn’t mean it like that.” More seriously, he continued, “You’ve managed to feed your country, get smarter doing it, sent food to nations that are struggling with it, and still grow your GDP. It’s admirable.”
“I don’t believe people should starve. There’s more than enough food to go around. And GDP is dependent on a number of different factors.”
“You’re also training other nations on your technology. How is that going?”
Valleria had given grants to several organizations in other countries to improve their farming practices, and provided them with new equipment they’d created. “It’s still early days, but we believe the harvests will go well. Climate change is a factor, of course, that will affect things. It’s been a very hot and dry summer in some places, and that will be reflected in the yield.”
“Some countries wouldn’t have done that. They would have kept the technology for themselves and licensedit, making money off it first.”
“It’s smart to give it away. As I mentioned, I don’t believe people should starve. We should be helping each other.”
“The operative word being ‘should’ in that statement. Not everyone believes in ‘should’. I’m sure you saw that at the A.N. meeting.”
“I can’t deny that.” Not all world leaders wanted to help in the same way he did, or even help their own country, much less another. Some were more interested in power and control.
“I think it would be helpful if you could be involved in some of these discussions at the next G20. You could be on some of the working groups and steering committees.”
“Would this be as an Invited Guest?”
Kihan took a beat before responding. “No, not for the upcoming meeting. But there is the potential to be one in a future year.”
Hmmm. This would be a route similar to what Norway had taken then. Still, it was progress. “Are the other nations aware of your invitation?”
Kihan nodded. “Yes. Most think your contributions would be valuable. I hope to see you there myself, but I’ll understand if you send some of your people instead. I am giving you fairly short notice.”
That was true; the meeting would be held in just two months, and there was the timing of the coronation to worry about. Still, it was being held in Europe, so the travel wouldn’t be onerous. “I’ll have to check with my people and, of course, our King, but we are honoured by the invitation.”
“You are welcome.” He paused, as if deciding whether or not to share something. “It’s not a coincidence that we’re holding a state dinner for you. Valleria is our ally, but state dinners are typically reserved for certain nations. Valleria traditionally wouldn’t qualify.”
Alex already knew that, as he’d learned it as part of the prep for the visit. His staff had been surprised when the state dinner had been offered during the planning and negotiations in the lead up to the trip.
Kihan continued. “Yet, I felt that in holding such a dinner foryou, we could further cement our relationship. I’m not interested in only doing the status quo to appease political rivals. I want to make real change, and I think we need new—or perhaps overlooked—voices to do it.”
Alex had to speak very carefully here. “First, I’ll say that Valleria would be interested in furthering our relationship, in a variety of different ways. Second, I commend your ideals, though I’m not sure how realistic they are. Even the G20 is exclusionary to a certain extent.”
“I know, and I agree. Yet I think the best way forward is one step at a time.”
“And our relationship is one of those steps?”
“Yes, along with your participation in the G20.”
Alex took a long drink to buy some time. “I’m very interested in becoming more involved on the world stage, and I’m looking for potential partners for Valleria. But I won’t be a pawn in someone else’s game. My country deserves better than that.”
Kihan smiled. “Then I look forward to working with you in the future.” He leaned in slightly and Alex did the same. “Any chance for an invitation to the coronation? My husband’s dying to go, though he wouldn’t say it.”
Alex laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. While we would love to have all our allies there, we’re keeping it small. I do want to express my thanks again to you for coming to the previous queen’s funeral. I’m sorry we didn’t get to speak more then, but I’m glad for the chance now.”
From there, the conversation moved to his Nonna and stayed lighter. There would be more negotiations over the coming days, but they’d made a good start.
The next day, he and Rebecca—along with Ethan and Anda, who had flown in from L.A.—visited Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They also visited two hospitals, the National Children’s Hospital and the National Veteran’s Hospital.
They then had lunch with leaders from healthcare—pharma companies, hospital administrators, insurance companies, and patient advocates—along with those in government managing veteran’s issues to discuss broader challenges in healthcare and potential solutions.
