Ties with Eswatini 'stable': Taiwan's foreign minister

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's diplomatic relations with Eswatini remain "stable," Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Friday in response to reports that the country's only African ally is pivoting toward China.

Taiwan's relations with Eswatini are "stable" and "solid," Lin told local media at a ceremony in Taipei, noting that the situation portrayed in media reports does not exist.

Lin said Eswatini's king Mswati III visited Taiwan in May to attend President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) inauguration, which was followed by the signing of a joint statement reaffirming bilateral ties between Taiwan and Eswatini.

In addition, the two countries have developed "wide" and "multi-faceted" collaborations over the last 56 years in areas such as medicine, agriculture and communications, Lin added.

Lin's comments came a few days after African media, Semafor Africa, cited the Eswatini business community as reporting that the kingdom's authorities were thawing relations with Beijing, in line with the increasing presence of Chinese businesses in the country.

The report also quoted Taiwan's ambassador to Eswatini, Jeremy Liang (梁洪昇), as expressing concern that an influx of Chinese nationals into Eswatini would "undermine" Taiwan's ties with Africa's small landlocked country.

Eswatini is one of only 12 states worldwide and the last in Africa to maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name.

The two countries established formal diplomatic ties in 1968.