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MISSION 2044 Mittelstand Defense Forum focused on the pivotal role of small and medium sized companies and family owned businesses in strengthening German and European defense and resilence.  

The Forum was opened by Nathanael Liminski, Minister and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, followed by an inspiring opening keynote from Karl-Theodor (KT) zu Guttenberg, who posed a striking question: Is Germany capable of defense – or merely of debate?

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Subsequent discussions featured, among others, Minister Mona Neubaur, René Obermann, Tim Höttges, Ulrich Grillo, Arndt G. Kirchhoff, Sven Kruck, Susanne Wiegand, and Professor Carlo Masala, exploring the role of the Mittelstand, the financing of resilience, industrial transformation, and the opportunities of defense innovation made in Germany.

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The day concluded with a powerful keynote by Joschka Fischer, highlighting how security policy, economic strength, and societal responsibility are now deeply intertwined.

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At the evening dinner, Minister President Hendrik Wüst delivered a compelling address on the responsibility that Germany – and North Rhine-Westphalia in particular – bears in this new security era.