President Tsai Ing-wen took a call from King Mswati III Oct. 29 in Taipei City, with the African monarch extending his deepest condolences over the recent train accident in northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County.
It is heartening to know that in far-off Kingdom of Eswatini, his majesty is thinking of the people of Taiwan as they grieve, Tsai said. Such a heartfelt and sincere gesture is testament to friendship and rock-solid relations between the nations, she added.
During the 10-minute call made from Ludzidzini Palace with Jeremy H. S. Liang—Taiwan’s ambassador to Eswatini—in attendance, Tsai told the king the government is committed to strengthening ties with allies on the basis of mutually beneficiary cooperation.
Tsai said as outlined in her presidential Double Tenth National Day address, the government is assisting Taiwan firms in developing overseas markets and establishing offshore production sites. The first country that comes to mind in this regard is Eswatini, she added.
Citing her state visit to Eswatini in April and the one by the king to Taiwan in June, Tsai said she will build on this strong foundation and work with the monarch in bringing bilateral relations to new heights. She also took the opportunity to thank the king for supporting Taiwan during his address at the U.N. General Assembly last month in New York.
In a tweet following the call, Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu thanked the king and said “Such a generous, kindhearted & thoughtful gesture shows the strength of #Taiwan-Kingdom of #Eswatini ties & closeness of our people.”
Taiwan and Eswatini established official diplomatic ties Sept. 6, 1968. The relationship has since grown on the back of close collaboration in areas like agriculture, education, health care, information and communication technology, renewable energy and vocational training, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (SFC-E)
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