A joint statement issued by the Formosa Club in Africa looks forward to the upcoming visit of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to Eswatini scheduled on September 5. That's according to a news release by the Foreign Ministry on Monday. The Formosa Club is composed of more than 80 members of congress from 11 different African countries which include South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and others.
The joint statement affirmed Taiwan’s contributions through the “African Project”, saying that it yielded concrete results, with deeper exchanges especially in the fields of agriculture, education, ICT industries, energy, trade and tourism. The statement emphasized expectations for further cooperation and exchanges with Taiwan and highlighted Taiwan as a beacon of world democracy.
The Foreign Ministry added that South African Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said that Taiwan is admirable for its dedication to defending democracy, freedom, rule of law and universal human rights in the face of expanding threats and oppression from the Chinese government.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) said the warm welcome and support for President Tsai's second visit to Africa demonstrate the success of the "Taiwan model" where countries cooperate through pragmatic diplomacy, reciprocity and mutual assistance. He added the Foreign Ministry will continue to make efforts to strengthen relations with African countries based on this foundation.