Taiwan President President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting Eswatini, as she seeks to reinforce ties with the country’s only ally in Africa.
She will be in the country from Tuesday to Thursday for the 55th anniversary of Eswatini’s independence, and will also mark the two countries’ 55 years of bilateral relations.
During the visit she is set to meet the country’s monarch, King Mswati III, and visit a local hospital and Taiwan-sponsored projects before returning home on Friday.
The Taiwanese president said before her departure that her trip was to “celebrate friendship between the two countries and promote sustainable co-operation”.
“Eswatini has always stood up to firmly support Taiwan, giving us confidence and strength,” she said.
Taiwan is claimed by China as its own territory with no right to state-to-state relations. It has formal ties with only 13 countries including Eswatini.
Eswatini is almost entirely surrounded by South Africa, which Chinese President Xi Jinping visited last month.