President Tsai Ing-wen gave a speech while attending a ceremony to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Kingdom of Eswatini’s independence and King Mswati Ⅲ’s 55th birthday Sept.6 in Somhlolo National Stadium in the kingdom.
This year is also the 55th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Eswatini. Tsai said that the over five-decade partnership has seen considerable progress in both countries, as evidenced by the fact that Eswatini has the second highest rate of access to electricity among African countries, with 82 percent of citizens on the grid.
The president said that as close allies, Taiwan and Eswatini share common goals for the younger generation and education. Many students from Eswatini are pursuing education in Taiwan in a wide range of disciplines including agriculture, education, management and medicine.
Tsai said that gender equality and female empowerment is another shared value and the memorandum of understanding on a loan program to fund women’s business startups signed Sept. 6 follows on from a 2019 MOU to enable access for women to financial services.
Tsai expressed her gratitude to the king for supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations during the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly, as well as thanking Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini for voicing support for Taiwan in international contexts.
In response, King Mswati Ⅲ expressed his appreciation for the president’s speech and said that his government was proud of its achievements in various fields including the economy, where the kingdom has been recognized by the World Bank and has an 8% GDP growth rate, adding that the government would continue to work hard to bring the country up to first world standards. He concluded by saying that standing together with diplomatic allies and the international community, the country will have a bright future. (POC-E)
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