Shared Prosperity, Integrated Diplomacy
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung noted that in April of last year (2025), he led a delegation to Eswatini as a special presidential envoy. He discovered that the nation’s reputation as the “Little Switzerland of the African plains”—due to its breathtaking mountain scenery, lush valleys, and cool, mountainous Highveld region—was well deserved. Moreover, within just two hours, his group spotted all of the “Big Five” game animals (the lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo, and rhinoceros). He also mentioned a meaningful coincidence: King Mswati III of Eswatini will turn 58 this year, exactly matching the 58 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Eswatini.
How can these bilateral ties be further advanced? Lin explained that beyond participating in Eswatini’s three major annual festivals—the Umhlanga (Reed Dance), Incwala (Warrior Festival), and Marula Festival—Taiwanese enterprises are also collaborating with Eswatini to develop a Taiwan industrial innovation park. Furthermore, initiatives like Leezen’s Eswatini Cultural Festival, which involves the purchasing of representative products from the country, provide an excellent way for the Taiwanese public to better understand our distant ally.
Inspired by Leezen’s efforts, Lin continued, MOFA plans to establish an economic and trade office. Through public-private partnerships and a “large leading small” mentorship model, Taiwan will engage in robust economic and trade exchanges with its diplomatic allies. This approach will elevate Taiwan’s Integrated Diplomacy globally, transforming the nation into a global economic powerhouse “on which the sun never sets” (in the words of President Lai Ching-te).
In her remarks, Abbigail F. Pieterse pointed out that the Eswatini Cultural Festival allows Taiwanese consumers to experience firsthand her country’s goods, produced in the spirit of sustainability. This initiative symbolizes the continuously strengthening economic and trade cooperation between the two nations, and she expressed her heartfelt wishes for an everlasting friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini.

The lighting ceremony at the opening of the Eswatini Cultural Festival highlights the strengthening of economic and trade ties between Taiwan and Eswatini.

(left) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Abbigail F. Pieterse, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Eswatini, sample chocolates infused with Eswatini’s strawberry and honey chili sauces.
(right) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and First Secretary Abbigail F. Pieterse view the specialty products from Eswatini on display.