King Mswati III pledges deeper Taiwan-Eswatini ties
Staff writer, with Reuters and CNA
Eswatini’s king yesterday pledged to deepen his country’s “enduring friendship” with Taiwan during a return visit to Taipei after President William Lai’s (賴清德) trip to the southern African nation in May that China tried to block.
King Mswati III arrived early yesterday for a state visit until Saturday next week. He is to attend today’s Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei.
The trip is his 20th visit to Taiwan and comes as the two countries celebrate 58 years of diplomatic ties.
President William Lai, front left, welcomes King Mswati III of Eswatini, front right, with full military honors at Liberty Square in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Eswatini would continue to advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN, the monarch said.
“We deeply value the enduring friendship and cooperation between our two countries, and we look forward to strengthening these bonds for the benefit of our peoples,” the king told a welcoming ceremony on Liberty Square.
Lai said the two sides had always collaborated from a position of trust and were partners who “support each other and grow together.”
Cooperation with Eswatini has expanded under Taiwan’s diplomatic initiative to promote shared prosperity with its allies, with increasingly close exchanges between the two countries’ peoples, Lai said.
In separate remarks, Lai thanked the king for supporting the establishment of a Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park in Eswatini and expressed hope that more Taiwanese companies would invest there, making the country a gateway to African markets.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which Lai described as a milestone in law enforcement cooperation.
Mswati emphasized turning existing bilateral agreements into practical cooperation and encouraging partnerships between businesses.
“We need to put them into action,” he said, calling for officials to study how the agreements could be implemented effectively.
Mswati’s itinerary includes observing a joint ground-air military exercise alongside Lai, a visit to an agricultural research center and an investment dinner hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said the king was interfering in China’s internal affairs and “ignoring the long-term interests of his people.”
The former Swaziland is one of just 12 small states, mostly in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, that have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
In April, Taiwan accused China of pressuring three other African countries to block overflight permission for Lai’s aircraft, causing him to postpone a plan to join celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the king’s accession.
That was the first time a Taiwanese president had canceled an entire foreign trip due to denial of airspace access, an apparent new Chinese strategy to curb the nation’s international ties.
Lai made a surprise trip in May, using an “arrive, then announce” approach.
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