Türkiye to give hand to Eswatini

ANKARA

Türkiye put the Eswatini agreement on its agenda as part of its strategy to develop economic relations with African countries, which was implemented in 2003.

The agreement, which has passed the parliamentary commission stage, will be discussed in the General Assembly. King Mswati III of Eswatini, who has been ruling the country for 38 years, has put the treaty into force directly in accordance with his national legislation, without waiting for Türkiye's ratification. The agreement will become enforceable with the approval of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

The current trade volume between the two countries is $1.5 million, which is barely the price of a luxury apartment in Istanbul. The new agreement stipulates Türkiye’s support in the field of science and technology, developing agriculture and livestock and increasing trade through cooperation projects in the fields of education, health, energy, mineral resources and fisheries. To this end, a Türkiye-Eswatini Joint Economic Commission will be established at the ministerial level.

Turkish businessmen will also have the opportunity to access the African market through regional organizations of which Eswatini is a member.

Eswatini entrepreneurs enjoy membership in regional economic organizations such as the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Once the agreement is approved, Eswatini will also open a trade office in Türkiye. "It is planned to open an embassy in Eswatini, one of the smallest countries in Africa, in the coming period," Foreign Ministry officials told the parliamentary commission.

Most people in Eswatini, one of the poorest countries in the world, live on less than 1 euro a day. Yet King Mswati III of Eswatini, one of the world's 15 richest heads of state, is occasionally in the international press for his lavish spending, flamboyant lifestyle and polygamous family structure.