June 4, 2025
No. 194
On the afternoon of June 4, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung met with a delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pholile Shakantu. During their meeting, they had an extensive exchange of views on such topics as bilateral cooperation, trade, and investment.
In his remarks, Minister Lin stated that he had visited Eswatini in late April as presidential special envoy to join the birthday celebrations for King Mswati III. He added that this meeting with Minister Shakantu and other ministerial-level officials from Eswatini just over one month later demonstrated the close and frequent interactions between the two countries and symbolized the strength of their diplomatic alliance.
Minister Lin took the opportunity to express appreciation once again to King Mswati III and the Eswatini government for their long-standing and staunch support for Taiwan in the international arena, such as at the recently concluded World Health Assembly, the United Nations, and other multilateral forums. He stressed that Eswatini’s consistent advocacy for Taiwan had touched the hearts of the people of Taiwan.
Minister Lin said that during his trip to Eswatini in April, he and King Mswati III had discussed such topics as strengthening bilateral economic, trade, investment, and tourism exchanges, as well as Taiwan’s assistance in building 5G smart cities and developing energy resources in Eswatini. He expressed confidence that the close collaboration between the two countries would spur Eswatini’s national development and better ensure the welfare of both peoples, stating that this would realize Taiwan’s vision of advancing allies’ prosperity and demonstrate that Taiwan could help and that Eswatini could serve as a leader on the African continent.
Minister Shakantu thanked Minister Lin for rapidly formulating a series of concrete plans following his trip to Eswatini in April that would advance bilateral cooperation and Eswatini’s development, underscoring Taiwan’s high regard for and steadfast commitment to its allies. She also expressed the hope to see greater investment and more tourists from Taiwan in Eswatini through the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project, thereby fueling bilateral exchanges.
Earlier on June 4, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chihchung Wu hosted a luncheon for the delegation. Attendees at the luncheon included International Trade Administration Secretary General Amelia W. J. Day, Export-Import Bank of the ROC President Hsieh Fu-hua, Hua Nan Bank Vice Chairman T. Lin, MOFA Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director General Lien Yu-ping, and MOFA Department of West Asian and African Affairs Deputy Director General Chen Yung-po. They exchanged views with the members of the Eswatini delegation on a variety of issues.
Eswatini is an important diplomatic ally of Taiwan in Africa. MOFA will continue to maintain close interactions with the Eswatini government and actively seek to enhance mutually beneficial collaboration in all fields so as to realize the vision of advancing allies’ prosperity and thereby deepen and consolidate diplomatic relations between the two countries. (E)