Mbabane- The Republic of China (Taiwan) President Lai Ching-te has thanked His Majesty King Mswati III and Her Majesty Indlovukazi (Queen Mother), together with Deputy Prime Minister Sen. Thulisile Dladla, for helping make his May visit to Eswatini possible after the trip was postponed.
Lai expressed his appreciation on Tuesday September 22,2026, when he met the Deputy Prime Minister at the Presidential Office in Taipei, where he also called for deeper cooperation between Taiwan and Eswatini in disaster management, industry, public health and talent development.
Senator Thulisile Dladla left Eswatini on September 17 accompanied by a delegation comprising Tourism and Environmental Affairs Minister Jane Simelane-Dlamini, National Disaster Risk Management Agency (NDRMA) CEO Victor Mahlalela, MP Gcina Magagula, NDRMA Legal Adviser Khanyisile Dlamini and Smay Neves, to attend the inaugural World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM) meeting held in Taiwan from September 18-20.
Lai specifically thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for personally accompanying his delegation during his May 2-5 visit to Eswatini, saying she travelled tens of thousands of kilometres with the delegation to ensure its journey to and from the Kingdom proceeded smoothly.
“Deputy Prime Minister Dladla personally accompanied our delegation, travelling tens of thousands of kilometres with us to ensure that our journey there and back proceeded smoothly,” Lai said.
The Taiwanese President also thanked Their Majesties for helping make the rescheduled visit possible. His visit had initially been scheduled for April but was postponed after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar withdrew permission for his chartered aircraft to fly through their airspace.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office attributed the withdrawal of the flight permits to pressure from China.
Lai said Taiwan and Eswatini should deepen cooperation through the WADM, particularly in disaster prevention, response and rescue.
“Under the framework of the WADM, Taiwan will share disaster prevention technologies, disaster response and rescue experience with Eswatini and other like-minded countries,” he said.
Eswatini is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa and one of the Republic of China (Taiwan)’s 12 diplomatic allies globally. The two countries have maintained diplomatic relations for 58 years.
The Deputy Prime Minister called for the two countries to expand the “scale, speed and breadth” of their cooperation, particularly in investment, industrial development and energy security.
Senator Dladla also identified mining and other mutually beneficial economic opportunities as areas where the two countries could deepen cooperation.
She thanked Taiwan for increasing rice assistance to Eswatini as the Kingdom prepares for possible severe El Niño conditions, which could threaten crop production through drought.
The Deputy Prime Minister further expressed appreciation for Taiwan’s support for additional social housing for vulnerable communities.
On the WADM, Senator Dladla said Eswatini intended to help make the alliance a practical platform for capacity building, knowledge sharing and coordinated action
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