Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung’s trip to Eswatini as President Lai Ching-te’s special envoy to the birthday celebration of the kingdom’s ruler, Mswati III, kicked off with a royal audience and continued with reviews of progress on a variety of cooperative projects between the allies.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin was received on April 23 by Queen Mother Ntombi Tfwala and King Mswati, to whom he presented a letter from President Lai. Lin and the king then co-hosted a launch ceremony for a strategic oil reserve project, the MOFA said, adding that it was the largest cooperative initiative since the establishment of bilateral ties.
Lin attended the opening of a smart city operations center in Mbabane the next day and shared hosting duties with Prime Minister Russell Dlamini. Lin noted that Taiwan is dedicated to assisting the kingdom transform its capital by integrating disaster prevention, security and transportation systems.
Dlamini lauded Taiwan’s assistance in response, saying that the process and end result both benefit Liswati in the capital, and thanking Taiwan for its long-standing support.
Following the occasion, Lin spoke with his counterpart, Pholile Shakantu, on labor cooperation and facilitating exchange of bilateral technical talent for the advancement of industrial development. The MOFA added that the ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding on the prevention of information manipulation and the promotion of information integrity.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin attended an event showcasing achievements for a Taiwan-Eswatini-organized microfinance fund for women-led businesses with Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla and Manqoba Khumalo, minister of commerce, trade and industry.
Lin mentioned that in 2023 Taiwan donated US$1 million to the fund, which has granted more than 500 loans to date, helping women to become financially independent. He announced that Taiwan would contribute an additional US$500,000. (POC-E)
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