The Kingdom of Eswatini’s new ambassador and South Africa’s new representative to Taiwan have recently arrived in the country to take up their respective posts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced on Tuesday.
Ambassador Promise Sithembiso Msibi and his wife arrived in the country on April 27 and have completed the required quarantine, according to Wu Cheng-wei (???), deputy chief of MOFA’s Department of West Asian and African Affairs.
Msibi presented a copy of his letter of credentials to Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (???) on Tuesday morning, Wu said, adding that the ministry is arranging a time with the Presidential Office to allow the new envoy to present the original letter to President Tsai Ing-wen (???), which will mark the official beginning of his ambassadorship.
According to MOFA, Msibi, 57, is a senior Eswatini diplomat who has visited Taiwan twice, as a parliamentary secretary in 2004, and to accompany King Mswati III’s mother to attend Taiwan’s Double Ten National Day celebrations in 2011.
Msibi is highly trusted by King Mswati III, making him a good choice as Eswatini’s ambassador to Taiwan, Wu said.
Msibi is taking over the post following the departure of his predecessor Thamie Dlamini, who has left the country to become Eswatini’s representative to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, Hugh Graham Anderson also arrived in the country on April 27 with his wife and has completed quarantine and recently assumed office as the new representative of the Liaison Office of South Africa in Taiwan.
The office represents South African interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Anderson, 63, is a senior South African diplomat who previously served as deputy chief of Latin American affairs and United States affairs in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), the foreign ministry of South Africa, according to Wu.
His previous overseas posts include serving in South Africa’s embassies in Finland, Brazil, Venezuela, and Austria.
His appointment filled the vacancy of his predecessor Robert Seraki Matsebe.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel