2015 Information Event for Ambassadors
Speech by Minister of Foreign Affairs Aurelia Frick
“The Art of the Feasible: Liechtenstein's Foreign Policy through Changing Times”
Monday, 29 June 2015
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Your Serene Highnesses
Excellencies
Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
Ladies and Gentlemen
Many anniversaries and commemorations are being celebrated in 2015:

200 years ago, delegates negotiated – and danced – at the Congress of Vienna

70 years ago, the Auschwitz extermination camp was liberated and the Second World War
came to an end

40 years ago, the cornerstone was laid for the OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

25 years ago, Liechtenstein joined the United Nations, and

20 years ago, our country joined the EEA, the European Economic Area.
These events are all something for our country to celebrate as part of our own history:

at the Congress of Vienna, Liechtenstein's sovereignty was recognized for the first time

the end of the Second World War was the end of a difficult time for us as well, marked by
great uncertainty

thanks to our membership of the OSCE, we are integrated into the European security architecture

alongside all of Liechtenstein's other multilateral work, our accession to the UN has allowed
us to participate actively in international foreign policy

through the EEA, we are optimally integrated in Europe
The Congress of Vienna was a crucial step toward Liechtenstein's independence. The sovereignty granted to Prince Johann I in 1806 was recognized and secured for half a century through the
admission to the German Confederation. With the dissolution of the German Confederation, the
Principality attained full sovereignty in 1866. Thanks to our membership in international organizations and institutions such as the

OSCE

the Council of Europe

the UN

the EFTA
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
the EEA

and the WTO
as well as through countless international treaties, Liechtenstein was able to fortify its sovereignty.
While in the past, achieving and securing sovereignty was of the utmost importance to Liechtenstein, the question nowadays is rather what we should do with this sovereignty:

How can we attain as much freedom of action as possible?

How can we make a contribution on the global stage?

How can we be heard and gain respect?

And how do we convey a picture of Liechtenstein that corresponds to how we want to be
perceived?
Ladies and Gentlemen
Internationally, we have to act on equal footing with other countries, irrespective of the resources available to us. To safeguard our interests, this equal footing and mutual respect are
indispensable.
Nevertheless: We are not able to do everything. We focus on what is feasible. My approach is to
position Liechtenstein as a reliable and committed partner showing solidarity in Europe and the
world. We cannot be everywhere at the same time. Liechtenstein is not a member of every international organization.
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On the one hand, this can be explained by the limited human and financial resources at our
disposal.
2.
On the other hand, however, we want to join an organization only if we can actively participate in it and live up to its aims.
We want to be a reliable partner. We focus on a selection, but we are very much involved in
those organizations we have selected. Just one example:
Last Monday, 120 people gathered here in Liechtenstein. This is because we are currently holding the EFTA Council Chair. We therefore had to organize this meeting in Schaan. A challenge, I
daresay, we managed very well.
A side note concerning reliability: Reliability requires respectful behaviour, acting in good faith.
It cannot be imposed, but rather builds on mutual respect. And it is our understanding that good
faith and mutual respect are inconsistent with “black lists”.
At the beginning of June, His Serene Highness, Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein,
visited the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. During this visit, UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon praised Liechtenstein's active engagement at the UN and pointed out that
Liechtenstein has more influence than would be expected, given its size. This makes me proud.
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And this tells me that focusing our engagement is the right approach.
Our relatively small size makes quick and flexible action possible. The channels within our Administration are short; decision-makers and business representatives are close and easy to approach. Unbureaucratic structures make rapid action possible. These are all opportunities that
we make optimal use of. We do not belong to any blocs, so that we can make fully independent
decisions. We are able to work actively and with credibility on internationally important topics.
Let me mention two examples in this regard:
In 2000, the UN Member States signed the Millennium Declaration at the Millennium Summit in
New York. This declaration formed the basis for the Millennium Development Goals. These are
eight concrete goals, to be achieved by 2015.
In 2012, a new reference framework was established for the coming 15 years. The aim was to
better integrate the pillars of sustainability into international development policy and to build
on the success of the Millennium Development Goals. The core of the new framework is a catalogue of goals for universal sustainable development, taking account of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions: the Sustainable Development Goals. Following the model of the
Millennium Summit, the new reference framework is to be adopted at the Post-2015 Summit in
September 2015 – with the participation of our Prime Minister. This underscores the importance Liechtenstein attaches to this topic.
We think that the Millennium Development Goals neglected certain circumstances. They were
formulated too narrowly. So that the Sustainable Development Goals are designed in a comprehensive way, a universal process was launched. All relevant stakeholders were involved, including Liechtenstein.
This new reference framework includes 17 sustainability goals. In addition to measurability and
reviewability, our focus in the negotiations is on four goals:

through solidarity, we want to help ensure that the poorest people in the world do better in
future;

we want to help ensure that the rights of women are strengthened. As a Minister, but also
as a woman and a mother, this is a very personal concern of mine;

we want to help achieve the goal of narrowing the gaps (within and) between individual
countries; and

we want to help ensure that people all around the world have rights not only on paper, but
that they can in fact claim those rights through the rule of law. Observance of the rule of
law is of special importance to a small country like Liechtenstein.
These are only four goals, but they are already a lot.
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My second example:
Here, I would like to mention development cooperation. Our approach involves commitment
over many years, commitment with solidarity, and reliable commitment. We show solidarity
with the poorest people in the world through our very targeted contributions to development
cooperation. In 2014, we spent a total of nearly 24 million Swiss francs on International Humanitarian Cooperation and Development. In absolute figures, this is perhaps a rather modest
amount. But the percentage of gross national income we currently spend on official development assistance (as of 2012) is 0.75 %. Therefore, Liechtenstein is one of the few countries that
has already reached the target. We rank fifth internationally in that regard.
Also in terms of the use of the 24 million francs, we have to act in a targeted manner. Here
again, we are a reliable partner, showing commitment and solidarity.
By providing continuous assistance, we are an important and reliable support for our partners.
We achieve sustainable successes, and these encourage us to continue the path on which we
have embarked. In our bilateral International Humanitarian Cooperation and Development, we
have succeeded in numerous cases in triggering change, including at the level of regional or
even national legislation. Thousands of people are doing better now, and their life has prospects
again.

Just one month ago, I was able to convince myself of this during a project trip to Peru: Besides visiting projects in the coastal region of Peru as well as in Lima itself, I travelled to
Iquitos. This is a town in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. There, Liechtenstein
supports “Formabiap”, a project for intercultural, bilingual education: In many remote areas
of Peru, children are educated only in Spanish. And this despite the fact that they are raised
at home in an indigenous language, for example “Quechua”. And many of those children
simply do not understand Spanish. Which means that they will either not go to school or
have problems following instructions. So in this boarding school in Iquitos, future teachers
are taught in both Spanish and their native language. In this way, they will be able to teach
bilingually. As Minister of Education, but also as a mother of two small children, I see the
importance of being educated in both languages.
This is what we mean by reliability, solidarity, and commitment.
Your Serene Highnesses
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
I began this speech with a look back at historical anniversaries. But we can also look at the present for something to celebrate – namely the Liechtenstein Year of Culture. Since recently, interested visitors have been able to marvel at the precious exhibits in the Treasure Chamber as
well as the works of art from classical modernism to the present day at the Hilti Art Foundation.
These are merely two highlights of the Year of Culture.
It is already a tradition that each year, an embassy puts together a cultural evening programme
for the Ambassadors' Information Day. I am very pleased that Ambassador Maria RotheiserScotti has decided to make an Austrian cultural contribution today – a cultural contribution that
could not be more timely. This evening, the Takino film theatre in Schaan will be showing "Macondo", a film about migration and integration. I am especially pleased that Austrian Integration
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Ambassador Kazim Yilmaz will participate in this event and speak about integration in Austria. I
am pleased that many of you will be at the Takino tonight as well. I very much look forward to
our discussion on this timely issue.
In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the excellent work together
with you as important representatives of your countries. I look forward to continuing this cooperation with all of you in a purposeful manner and in our mutual interest.
Thank you for coming and for your interest also in the rest of today's programme.
And speaking of programme – the person who should receive the award for “The best programme for visiting Liechtenstein” is Ernst Risch, Director of Liechtenstein Marketing. Mr. Risch
will take the floor after Liechtenstein Marketing shows you a film about the Liechtenstein Year
of Culture 2015, produced especially for you.
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