President William Lai (賴清德) on Sunday called for more private Taiwanese investment in the Kingdom of Eswatini, as he visited several Taiwan-funded projects in the country’s sole African ally.
Accompanied by senior Eswatini officials, Lai and his delegation began the second day of their visit with a trip to the site of a planned Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park project.
The project aims to help Taiwanese businesses expand globally, connect with African markets and create local jobs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Photo: screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
Lai was also briefed on a strategic oil reserve project, intended to ensure a 60-day fuel reserve for Eswatini, the ministry said.
Taiwan remains a reliable and resilient partner for Eswatini in a rapidly changing global landscape, a Presidential Office statement released yesterday quoted Lai as saying.
Eswatini is a steadfast diplomatic ally of Taiwan and a major gateway for Taiwanese businesses seeking to expand into Africa, Lai said.
Photo: screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
The president also expressed hope that more private Taiwanese companies would invest in and cultivate talent in Eswatini, as Taiwan seeks to deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the statement said.
Taiwan also hopes to work with Eswatini to explore the broader African market and create greater economic value together, Lai said.
Lai also visited the newly opened Taiwan-funded International Convention Center, designed to host global conferences, trade shows, exhibitions and meetings.
He also met with Queen Mother Ntombi Tfwala, thanking her and King Mswati III for inviting him to Eswatini, which he described as his “second home,” the Presidential Office said.
Lai arrived in Eswatini on Saturday after an earlier planned trip was canceled due to revoked overflight permits.
The Presidential Office on April 21 announced that Lai’s planned visit to Eswatini — to mark the 40th anniversary of Mswati’s accession and his 58th birthday — had been suspended after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight permits for the president’s chartered plane.
Lai’s office said the revocations were due to China’s “economic coercion” of the African nations.
While neither Taiwan nor Eswatini have disclosed how Lai ultimately reached the kingdom, local media reported that the president traveled aboard the king’s private jet — an Airbus A340-313 — flying directly from Taipei to Eswatini.
The aircraft had landed in Taiwan earlier in the week, carrying the king’s special envoy and Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla, who met with Lai at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Thursday last week.
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