Lai to visit Eswatini on second overseas trip as president

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will visit Taiwan's sole African ally Eswatini later this month, in what will be his second official overseas trip since taking office in May 2024, the Presidential Office said Monday.

Eswatini is one of 12 countries worldwide that have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and the only one in Africa.

At a press conference in Taipei on Monday, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said Eswatini will hold a series of celebrations from April 24-26 to mark the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession to the throne and his 58th birthday.

King Mswati III visited Taiwan in May 2024 at Lai's invitation to attend the president's inauguration, and earlier this year, he sent a personally signed letter inviting Lai to attend the celebrations in Eswatini, Kuo said.

In response to King Mswati III's "warm invitation," Lai will lead a delegation to Eswatini later this month, demonstrating the importance of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and Taiwan's commitment to deepening the bilateral partnership, Kuo said.

According to an itinerary released by the Presidential Office, Lai and his delegation will leave Taiwan on April 22 and return on April 27.

During the visit, Lai will meet with King Mswati III, and they will sign a joint communique, the itinerary shows. Apart from attending the anniversary and birthday celebrations, Lai and his delegation are also scheduled to visit the site of a planned Taiwan industrial innovation park.

The delegation includes Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), according to Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu (吳志中), who also spoke at Monday's press conference.

The president and his delegation will travel to Eswatini on a non-stop flight, which will not pass over the Middle East, where the security situation remains tense due to the ongoing regional conflicts, Wu said.

The visit to Eswatini, which has maintained diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan) for 58 years, will be Lai's second official overseas trip since he took office in May 2024.

His first trip, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, 2024, included visits to Taiwan's Pacific allies -- the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau -- as well as transit stops in the U.S. state of Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.