Rens, Heimatar – In the month since the historic open borders agreement between the Minmatar Republic and the Thukker Tribe, the volume of trade between the two has increased substantially and continues to rise. Established trade routes between the Republic regions and Thukker holdings in the Great Wildlands have seen a ten-fold increase in activity, while entirely new routes have been forged between the regions by enterprising merchants.

'Trade opportunities have multiplied almost daily since the announcement,' said the head of the Minmatar Independent Traders Guild, Ursak Deboul, reflecting optimism among the members of his organisation. 'Many of our members have traded on the margins of our space and, in all honesty, with more than one Thukker caravan under condition of secrecy. Now that the trade is open and routes are becoming well used, it puts everything on a much more secure basis. I think this is why we're not yet seeing trade volume plateau. This is only the beginning and it can only be good for all the tribes of Minmatar.'

There is some concern among shippers at signs of increasing pirate activity in some areas but Thukker Tribe representatives have been quick to reassure Minmatar traders that patrols in the Great Wildlands have been stepped up, particularly along the backbone trade routes.