President 
Lai Ching-te pledged on Tuesday to keep working with Eswatini on natural disaster preparedness and response as he met Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Taiwan will share disaster-prevention technology and response and rescue experience with Eswatini and other like-minded countries through the framework of the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM), Lai said.
Why was Dladla in Taiwan? Dladla, leading a delegation on her third visit to Taiwan this year, came to attend the founding assembly of the WADM, CNA reported. The president said her attendance opened a new opportunity for the two countries to work together on international disaster management. In the face of extreme weather and other global challenges, countries can build better disaster-prevention and relief mechanisms only by sharing experience and pooling resources, he said.
What else did Taiwan offer? Beyond disaster cooperation, Taiwan hopes to share its development experience with Eswatini through its programme for diplomatic allies and to keep deepening exchanges in industry, public health and talent development, Lai said. Amid a fast-changing international situation, Taiwan also hopes, with Eswatini's support, to work alongside more international partners and contribute more to the international community.
What did the president thank her for? His overseas trip in April had been put on hold because of outside interference, Lai said in remarks reported by CNA, and was then completed in early May with the help and support of Eswatini's King Mswati III, the Queen Mother and Dladla. Dladla personally accompanied his delegation over tens of thousands of kilometres to make sure it got there and back smoothly, and he thanked her again. He described her as Eswatini's first woman foreign minister and its second woman deputy prime minister, and said she had long worked to promote gender equality and improve people's well-being.
What did Dladla say? Dladla, in remarks reported by CNA, said diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Eswatini were approaching 60 years and had gone beyond a traditional diplomatic relationship, to the point that the two countries were already family. The relationship was very strong, which gave everyone confidence it could be taken to a higher level, she said. She thanked Taiwan for increasing its rice aid to Eswatini, saying it meant a great deal at a time when many countries are worried about food security, and said she was glad Taiwan had committed to helping build more social housing and to supporting Eswatini's tourism industry.
Figures referenced: Lai Ching-te. — JudgeMarket.
