President Tsai Ing-wen received a delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini led by Prime Minister Russell Dlamini at the Presidential Office March 19 in Taipei City, pledging to continue expanding the already robust ties across the board.
Arriving the day before, the group also includes Mrs. Dlamini, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Prince Lonkhokhela and his wife, and was accompanied by Amb. Promise Msibi and his wife.
Tsai welcomed Dlamini on behalf of the people, saying that the PM’s visit, the first since he took office in November, along with one by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pholile Shakantu earlier this year, will further deepen the friendship.
According to the president, Taiwan and Eswatini have continued to expand cooperation in the areas of agriculture, energy, economy and trade, public health and women’s empowerment in recent years. Such positive progress is best evidenced by the three cooperative projects concluded during her visit to the African ally last year, she said.
Tsai thanked Eswatini for its long-standing support of Taiwan’s international participation, including the prime minister’s call for Taiwan’s climate change efforts to be recognized and for the country to have greater participation in related mechanisms during the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change’s COP 28 staged in Dubai last December.
Based on this solid foundation, the government will seek further cooperative opportunities to strengthen the diplomatic partnership and jointly advance global development, the president said.
In response, Dlamini congratulated Taiwan on its successful presidential and legislative elections and conveyed warm greetings from King Mswati III, Queen Mother Ntombi Tfwala and the people of Eswatini.
The prime minister thanked Taiwan for accelerating his country’s national development over the last 56 years through joint projects such as the international convention center and five-star hotel, strategic oil reserve facility, advanced health facilities and the rural electrification program. The endeavors have helped facilitate his country’s economic transformation by bolstering growth, enhancing health services and providing more job opportunities, he added. (SFC-E)
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