By King’s Office Correspondents
SINGAPORE – Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Pholile Shakantu has revealed that the government has benefited a lot from His Majesty the King’s external travels.
Speaking after the King met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnum at the presidential palace here yesterday, the minister said it is during such visits that they get to speak directly with their colleagues and further get the opportunity to experience firsthand the level of development those countries have achieved.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Pholile Shakantu, was joined by Senator Prince Ngangabani, PS Newman Ntshangase, Senator Sigombeni Dlamini, and Chief Msuduka Dlamini soon after her return from the meeting.
“Since His Majesty the King’s vision is for the country to attain First World status, we get exposed to such countries as Singapore and the Republic of Korea, as was the case this time. We learn from them what policies they have followed or implemented to get to the level of development and take those lessons back home.
“In his meeting with President Shanmugaratnum, the King discussed a number of issues of mutual cooperation and looked at how they could further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. We know that Singapore is far more developed when it comes to issues of infrastructure, innovation, and technology,” she said.
Shakantu stated: “We are grateful to His Majesty the King for exposing us to such development through his external travels. It gives us encouragement that indeed, we can also achieve this as a country, since we get to learn from our colleagues.”
She said such trips further help the country to better appreciate the ever-changing geopolitics and enable the Kingdom to align itself.
The minister stated that it is during such trips that the King gets the opportunity to meet not only with the heads of state but also with big corporations, whom he then invites to invest in the Kingdom.
She said that by so doing, the King makes the work of the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) of luring investors to the country very easy.
