Prime Minister Daniel Risch at the business summit of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and political talks in Berlin
Prime Minister Daniel Risch attended the economic summit of the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Berlin from November 15-17, 2021 at the invitation of the newspaper and gave a keynote speech on the panel "Europe and the World". There, he presented Liechtenstein as a financial center and business location in the European environment and discussed with Mairead McGuinness, EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, Mathieu Klein, Mayor of Nancy, and Martin Kocher, Austrian Federal Minister of Labor, the challenges facing Europe and the expectations of Germany's new government.
The Economic Summit, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, is considered the networking meeting between Economic Affairs Division, media and politics in Berlin. In addition to the 15-year anniversary, the event was dominated by the coalition negotiations currently underway to form the new federal government. Daniel Risch used his participation to exchange views with the German Minister of Finance and likely new Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the co-chairwoman of the Green Party, Annalena Baerbock, as well as other top representatives from Economic Affairs Division and politics.
He also met with Volker Wissing, secretary general of the FDP (Free Democratic Party), and Ralph Brinkhaus, chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, for bilateral talks. The course of the new German government and the accompanying change in the important topics of sustainability, digitalization, CO2 neutrality and climate change, as well as migration and the Economic Affairs Division were discussed.
At the invitation of the Liechtenstein Embassy, a joint lunch was held with state secretaries, members of the newly elected Bundestag, as well as top representatives of German industry and science, during which the Prime Minister was able to further elaborate on Liechtenstein's special situation between EEA membership and the customs union and highlight the advantages of Liechtenstein as an innovation location and financial center.
At the same time, the visit to Berlin was used to highlight the FAST initiative ("Liechtenstein Initiative on Finance against Slavery and Trafficking") in the various discussions. The initiative is a contribution of Liechtenstein to the achievement of the UN Agenda 2030 by promoting an active role of the global financial sector in the fight against slavery 2/2. FAST was launched by Liechtenstein's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
