By Lwazi Dlamini
His Majesty King Mswati III left the country on Sunday on a three-country work trip accompanied by Liphovela laZuma.
It is Liphovela laZuma’s first official international assignment. The King’s trip will start in Rome, Italy, where he will attend the World Forum and address an assemblage of Italian business leaders on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Hotel.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Trade is hosting the Special Business Seminar in partnership with the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA).
His Majesty will deliver the keynote address, highlighting Eswatini’s business-friendly environment following significant interest from Italian businesses.
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The King will then make an official visit to Serbia before ending his work trip in Samoa, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM).
In Rome, Italy, according to the poster flighted on the EIPA website, the Special Business Seminar under the theme ‘Doing business and sourcing goods from Eswatini’, will unpack Eswatini as a viable investment destination, a production hub and a secure country for goods in Africa.
“This seminar will focus among other areas, on Eswatini’s Advantage, support from the Government, investment opportunities and viable additional markets Eswatini offers to businesses,” reads the invitation signed by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo under the headline banner of ‘Eswatini is Open for Business’.
The Eswatini Daily News has reliably gathered that the Government is seizing the opportunity to lure Italian investors who have shown considerable interest in the renewable energy sector, mining and trade.
Eswatini, with a population of just over 1.2 million, is working to position itself as an exporter that is open for business.
A member of two of the largest free trade regions on the continent; the South Africa Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),
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Eswatini has historically had a service-based economy with companies from South Africa among the major employers, however, due to the developments in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), strategic manufacturing for export will now create new enthusiasm towards foreign market opportunities.
Eswatini is an AGOA-eligible country which in 2021 issued a comprehensive three-year strategy to maximize the opportunities presented under the programme.
In 2022, the government issued the National Development Plan, outlining challenges and opportunities aimed to bring Eswatini to first-world status nations by 2028.
The Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) advocates for foreign investors and facilitates regulatory approval.
Recent positive developments include the start-up of a 15,000 sqm factory that began production this year of food products for the local and export markets.
Other positive investment climate factors include the eligibility of Eswatini to AGOA, the enactment of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act, updated intellectual property legislation passed in 2022 and favourable World Bank rankings on the Ease of Doing Business.
