BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – Ambassador Jeremy Liang has emphasised on the importance of relations between Eswatini and Taiwan.
This was during the Double Tenth National Day for the Republic of China Taiwan.
“There is no challenge or obstacle we cannot tackle nor overcome together. A case in point is COVID-19. The pandemic claimed over 6.9 million lives worldwide and inflicted uncountable damage on the global economy. The way we live, trade and engage changed forever. Taiwan has proven that Taiwan can help Eswatini and will do what is needed to ensure the Beautiful Kingdom continues along the fast track to a full and sustainable post-pandemic recovery,” he shared.
Although Taiwan and Eswatini were both hit hard by coronavirus, both countries never took their eye off the ball.
Liang said they have doubled down on strengthening resilience by building capacity and competency in key areas such as personal protective equipment manufacturing, pharmaceutical procurement and provision, and medical expertise exchanges.
This can-do spirit, bolstered by their shared civic traditions, crossed over into youth and women empowerment –twin pillars of the Eswatini economy.
“It has been such an honour to have pioneered various empowerment projects in Eswatini. This includes a youth empowerment project which saw a donation of E1 million to all four regions of Eswatini. This donation helped a number of young people start and grow their businesses. Youth empowerment is at the heart of the Embassy and together with the government of Eswatini, we can make youth unemployment a thing of the past,” he said.
Liang in addition said he was personally proud to have assisted in making the Women Business Start-up Microfinance Revolving Fund a reality.
Taiwan’s cornerstone commitment of one million U.S. dollars will go a long way towards giving women access to much-needed funds and raising the level of women’s economic empowerment throughout Eswatini.
After all, inclusive prosperity can only be achieved if all segments of society can contribute equally to this critically important mission.
