Times Of Swaziland: TAIWAN DONATES E10M FOR FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

TAIWAN DONATES E10M FOR FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19
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Melisa Msweli on 26/03/2020 09:12:00


MBABANE - The Republic of China (Taiwan) has donated E10 million to the country
towards the fight against the coronavirus.
The donation was made by the Ambassador, Jeremy Liang, at the Cabinet Offices
yesterday. When presenting the donation to the deputy prime minister, the
ambassador stated that they knew what it was like to fight a pandemic as they
had a similar experience before.
Epidemic
He highlighted that they were attacked by an epidemic called SARS which is an
acronym for severe acute respiratory syndrome. “Having recognised the
magnitude of COVID-19, His Majesty King Mswati III made a very timely decision
to cancel his birthday celebration and prioritise the lives of emaSwati in the
process,” he said. The ambassador mentioned that in their country, they were
able to control the virus and would share their expertise and experience to help
the country to fight the virus. He said their country stood shoulder to shoulder
with the country in fighting the virus. Receiving the donation, the Deputy Prime
Minister, Themba Masuku, said they were aware that the assistance would be
additional to the provision of testing kits, protective clothing, masks and
other equipment related to the nation’s concerted effort in combating the
virus.
Consistent
He mentioned that Taiwan remained the country’s long standing, committed and
consistent co-operation partner,  working hand-in-hand with the people of
Eswatini throughout the 52-year bilateral and diplomatic partnership to realise
the nation’s socio-economic ambitions in the areas of agriculture, education,
health care, financial inclusion, energy and infrastructure.
“I wish to acknowledge with unreserved gratitude the commitment of Taiwan to
the principle of people centred, development responsive, priority driven
interventions, such as this one and implore the continued engagement by our two
countries in other far reaching and mutually reinforcing areas of
co-operation,” he said.
Leadership
Masuku stated that the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) had shown
meticulous leadership and commendable resilience to contain and control the
spread of the coronavirus outbreak since it gained prominence in December 2019.
“The entire world has a leaf to take out of the book of best practice from
Taiwan in dealing with public health emergencies and we hope that this
experience will be the much needed catalyst that will see Taiwan included in a
meaningful way in international organisation such as the World Health
Organisation, where collective responsibility is the global standard,”
remarked Masuku. After the presentation, the DPM handed the cheque over to the
Chairperson of the Resource Mobilisation Team, Dr Phil Mnisi.