‘Creating a business-ready environment, attracting significant Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), and stimulating domestic investments for reinvestment and expansion.’
These are the sentiments that were shared by the Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini on Thursday at the launch of the upcoming Eswatini Investment Conference.
The government-led conference is organised by the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) and is announced to proceed on May 14 and 15 with buildup activities until then.
The PM, making his keynote speech, said this was the first step towards driving the government plan of action of reaching a double-digit economic growth of 12 percent per annum of the gross domestic product (GDP) by the financial year 2029.
At the launch, there were some cabinet ministers, legislators, EIPA board members, and management, as well as industry leaders and institutions.
The conference follows the announcement of this ‘ambitious target,’, which occurred in November.
This was when the PM unveiled his administration’s five-year plan of action.
“This conference, themed “Creating Opportunities for Rapid Economic Transformation,” is therefore a critical step toward realising our vision. It is a direct implementation of the “Nkwe” mandate, as proclaimed by His Majesty the King during Sibaya in 2023,” the PM said.
He also said that the upcoming investment conference is organised to ‘set the stage for future events aimed at driving economic growth.’
Investors, financiers, economic development institutions, financial intermediaries, and policymakers from Eswatini, the region, and across the globe will converge at the conference.
The PM said Eswatini is selling itself as a premier investment destination in Southern Africa.
“It will serve as a platform to announce strategic, high-impact projects led by the private sector while also showcasing Government’s policy reforms and programmes designed to foster an enabling business environment,” he said.
The PM said the economy would create jobs and fight poverty out of the outcome of the conference.
He said sectors including manufacturing, energy, and agroprocessing would be boosted to create thousands of jobs.
