Mbabane – H.E. Pholile Shakantu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, spoke to Independent News during the Indian Republic Day celebrations in Mbabane on Friday evening, outlining plans to expand Eswatini’s engagement with India across culture, education, business, and tourism.
“Well, the India-Eswatini relationship is going to grow. We already have a very, very good relationship with India and today, celebrating India Day, as Swazis, we want to celebrate with them because apart from having a very good bilateral relationship with them, we also share a lot in terms of culture and strong heritage,” Minister Shakantu said.
She said the Kingdom is establishing a High Commission in India to broaden engagement beyond government-to-government interactions and create more opportunities for citizens. “We have a lot of students studying there as well, and going on exchange programs. Today, 20 will be travelling to India to experience it first-hand and interact with the people in India. There’s a lot that will benefit them as consultants because of their culture, their work ethic. They lead in technology and in a lot of industries, and we want to create those opportunities where multinationals are able to go and experience India,” she explained.
The minister stressed that while most interaction with India has historically been at the political level, the new High Commission will facilitate people-to-people and business engagement. “Most of the time we find our interaction is at a political level, where it’s government to government. But now we want to have more and more people from India, business level, students also. That is why we thought it is important to establish a presence in India because India is one of the big economies and we want to be part of their growth and learn from their experience,” she said.
Minister Shakantu highlighted the potential for collaboration in key sectors, including hospitality, medical services, and other industries where India has global expertise. “We want those exchange programs where Swazis and Indians can have interactions. With the opening of the High Commission in India, there will be more opportunities, more opportunities for students, more opportunities for business people both ways,” she said.
The minister also identified tourism as a strategic priority. “India has the population. We want to open tourism routes for them to come to Eswatini. If we can get two million to visit Eswatini like this year or next year, I think that will be a good goal,” she said.
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