President Chen Shui-bian on May 4 met with the Queen Mother of the Kingdom of Swaziland Ntombi Tfwala at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, expressed a warm welcome and gratitude to the Queen Mother for leading another delegation to Taiwan.
The president expressed his appreciation to Swaziland for its staunch support of and friendship to Taiwan over the past decades. He said that nation's former king and present King Mswati III have made enormous contributions to boosting substantive and friendly ties between the two nations. The president said that King Mswati III is one of his best friends and they have a rapport like brothers. He said that King Mswati III last visited Taiwan in June of last year. He said he expects that the King will lead a delegation to Taiwan in September of this year to take part in a summit with leaders of African allies, which will make the meeting all the more meaningful.
President Chen said that he was fortunate to be able to lead a delegation to Swaziland in the middle of 2002, marking the first time that he was able to visit that beautiful country and witness the progress in and modernization of that nation's infrastructure. He said that the support and assistance provided by the Queen Mother has been instrumental in enabling Swaziland to carry out a wide range of reforms.
The president furthermore said that the Queen Mother has championed the cause of health for the people of Swaziland. As a result, arrangements have been made for her to visit the AIDS Prevention and Research Center at National Yang-Ming University and Sheng Chang Pharmaceutical Company, enabling her to see the advances made by Taiwan in the area of health. The president said he believes the two countries should sign a medical cooperation agreement in the near future, which would allow Taiwan to provide even more medical assistance to Swaziland and share its experiences with its ally. The president expressed his gratitude to the Swaziland Ministry of Health, its representative in Geneva and Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini for supporting Taiwan's efforts to enter the World Health Organization under the name "Taiwan." Lastly, the president wished the Queen Mother a pleasurable stay on Taiwan and asked her to pass along his regards to King Mswati III.
The Queen Mother of the Kingdom of Swaziland was accompanied to the Presidential Building by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao and Swaziland Ambassador to the ROC (Taiwan) Njabuliso Busisiwe Gwebu. Also in attendance was Deputy Secretary-General to the President Cho Jung-tai.