Taiwan FM wraps up Eswatini trip with rhino conservation donation

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) concluded his trip to Eswatini, the nation's only diplomatic ally in Africa, on Saturday with a pledged donation to support local rhinoceros conservation efforts.

Lin flew back to Taiwan after ending the five-day visit to the African kingdom that began on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement released Sunday.

On the final day of the visit -- mainly made to celebrate King Mswati III's 57th birthday, with Lin serving as President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) special envoy -- Lin pledged a US$55,000 donation to Big Game Parks, an Eswatini-based nonprofit trust that manages four parks in the landlocked country, MOFA said.

The money will be used to help conserve rhino habitats in the African kingdom, the ministry said.

Lin also named a new baby rhino recently born in one of the parks under the Big Game Parks "Formosa" to symbolize friendship between the two countries, MOFA said.

Formosa is a former Western name for Taiwan given by Portuguese travelers who called the island "Ilha Formosa" or "beautiful island" when they first saw it in the 16th century.

The pledged donation was witnessed by Eswatini Foreign Minister Pholile Shakantu and Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Jane Mkhonta-Simelane, MOFA said.

Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China, established formal diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Eswatini on Sept. 6, 1968, when the latter gained full independence from the United Kingdom.

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is the last absolute monarchy in Africa and the only country on that continent that formally recognizes Taiwan.