Liechtenstein guest country in Thuringia

For more than a quarter of a century, the Schlachteessen of the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) has been part of the political calendar of Thuringia as a prelude to the political year. The Liechtenstein ambassador attended at the invitation of Manfred Grund, Member of the Bundestag and parliamentary director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, and presented Liechtenstein as a guest country. The keynote speaker was former Bundestag President Norbert Lammert. With image films from the Principality, the guests were prepared for the speech of the Ambassador, who gave a tour d'horizon on the history of the country, the European and international embedding as well as the current challenges of the small state . She emphasized that it was not compartmentalization that secured Liechtenstein's sovereignty and independence, but networking and partnerships. She spoke of her country's strong business location and innovative spirit, and highlighted some of the foreign policy initiatives with which Liechtenstein is involved in the United Nations, among others. In his speech, Norbert Lammert urged people not to take democracy for granted or as something irrevocable, saying that today the greatest danger is not civil wars, military coups or the intervention of other states, as in the past, but the holding of free elections - when voters choose non-democrats. More than 500 guests from northern Thuringia and Lower Saxony attended the event, including former CDU state parliamentary group leader Mike Mohring and numerous members of parliaments (European Parliament, Thuringia Parliament and Lower Saxony Parliament).