Remarks by Minister Dr. Lin Chia-lung at the meeting with H.M. King Mswati III, the Kingdom of Eswatini

Remarks by Minister Dr. Lin Chia-lung at the meeting with H.M. King Mswati III, the Kingdom of Eswatini

• Data Source：Department of West Asian and African Affairs
• Date：2025-04-23

Dr. Lin Chia-lung

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Republic of China (Taiwan)

April 23, 2025

(As Prepared for Delivery)

Ladies and gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure for me to lead a delegation to the beautiful Kingdom of Eswatini. Before this visit, I heard many good things about Eswatini's amazing scenery and kindhearted people. As the saying goes, seeing is believing. This trip has shown me that all the reports were true. I very much value this opportunity to visit Eswatini, just as I treasure the friendship between our countries, which goes back more than half a century.

I am honored to be visiting Eswatini as a special envoy of President Lai Ching-te on the occasion of Your Majesty 57th birthday. I look forward to attending the celebrations on April 25 and offering my personal congratulations.

Your Majesty led a delegation to Taiwan in May 2024 to attend our presidential inauguration. The visit demonstrated your support for the new administration. On behalf of President Lai, I would like to thank Your Majesty once again.

Taiwan is a faithful international partner of Eswatini. Under our bilateral cooperation framework, Taiwan continues to assist Eswatini in developing key infrastructure. Earlier today, I was honored to take part in the project unveiling ceremony for a strategic oil reserve with Your Majesty. This is the largest-ever cooperation project between our countries since we established diplomatic relations. I expect construction to go ahead smoothly. I am also confident that when the oil reserve is completed, it will make a great contribution to Eswatini's development.

Eswatini is a steadfast international ally of Taiwan. You have strongly supported bilateral relations and always speak up for Taiwan at international meetings. Your Majesty has defended Taiwan at the UN General Assembly many times. The people of Taiwan are deeply grateful for this. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Your Majesty and the government of Eswatini for your long-standing support of Taiwan's international participation.

The international situation is volatile and full of challenges. China continues to try to disrupt the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It also deliberately distorts UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to restrict Taiwan's diplomatic space. Eswatini has always stood by Taiwan. I speak for myself as well as everyone else in Taiwan when I say that we feel fortunate and honored to have such a reliable and loyal international partner.

In closing, I would like to assure Your Majesty that we will continue to work on strengthening exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and Eswatini and deepening our partnership. We hope to assist Eswatini in achieving its vision for first-world status. Let us work together to create a prosperous and peaceful future for both our countries. On behalf of President Lai, I would like to give my best wishes for Your Majesty's good health as well as the continued prosperity of the Kingdom of Eswatini.