TAIPEI, TAIWAN – In what could get things moving, the governments of Eswatini and Taiwan have agreed to establish a concrete working plan to track the progress of the proposed Taiwanese Industrial Park (TIP).
The agreement emerged during high-level diplomatic engagements in Taipei, where His Majesty King Mswati III emphasised the urgent need to transition bilateral agreements into actionable economic benefits for both nations.
Speaking on the strategic necessity of the project, His Majesty noted, “There should be some sort of working plan whereby both governments, from the Eswatini point of view, as well as from Taiwan’s point of view, that should be followed so that it could help us to review and study to see where we are and are we making progress or not?”
Under the framework, both governments will establish a comprehensive operational roadmap to review, monitor and accelerate the development of the industrial hub, ensuring that administrative and operational milestones are strictly met.
The Taiwanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs attended the event on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was departing for Poland, with instructions to report back directly to the President on the tangible outcomes and decisions reached during the meeting.
His Majesty said he was impressed to learn that the ministry of foreign affairs had brought together technical teams that went to work on this matter immediately after their dinner the previous night. He said this demonstrated strong commitment to bringing the project to fruition.
The country has earmarked 500 hectares of land dedicated to the industrial park, which he said ought to be constructed using authentic Taiwanese designs, operational models and cultural aesthetics, so that it brings Taiwan to Eswatini.
The king said the initiative aims to attract an initial minimum of 30 Taiwanese manufacturing, electronic and pharmaceutical companies to establish operations in Eswatini, which is positioned at a strategic entry point for Taiwanese businesses seeking to expand across the African continent.
His Majesty further highlighted the need for expanding the energy sector in the country, with discussions on the ongoing construction of Eswatini’s strategic oil reserve facility taking center stage.
He pointed out that while initial plans catered for a 16-day fuel buffer, global supply chain uncertainties and volatile regional petroleum markets have prompted an urgent review to scale up capacity to a 90-day supply.
“Nowadays, the desperation for more and more fuel storage in our region is very high on the agenda. So where we are with a shortage of fuel, the need of storing more and more fuel product in the country is by far very, very important.”
Taiwanese authorities gave assurances during the bilateral talks that they are committed to examining the expansion proposal, ensuring that Eswatini builds robust energy reserves to support its growing industrial footprint.
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