KING WANTS ESWATINI TO TAKE LEAF FROM S. KOREA

LUDZIDZINi - His Majesty King Mswati III wants the Kingdom of Eswatini to take a leaf from South Korea on how to develop a strategic oil reserve and use it to bolster the economy.

The King said this when addressing the media at Ludzidzini Royal Residence, shortly after his arrival from a two-week trip in South Korea and the Republic of Singapore, where he strengthened the country’s bilateral relations with the two countries. During the official trip, the King was accompanied by Inkhosikati LaNgangaza.

He said about 40 years ago, South Korea was like the Kingdom of Eswatini and other African countries and was referred to as a developing country. However, he said even though South Korea does not have minerals, it had achieved the status of being a First World country and is ranked with some of the world’s largest economies.

However, the King said in terms of planning, the Kingdom of Eswatini was not too different, as he learnt that the Asian State started its development programme by establishing a strategic oil reserve, which it developed into an oil refinery, which processed crude oil and produced various petroleum products. He said this attracted a lot of investments and the country ended up developing in various sectors, including Information, Communication and Technology (ICT). “There are lessons to be learnt from South Korea, as we are also preparing to establish a strategic oil reserve (at Phuzumoya) and the plan is to later develop it into an oil refinery plant,” the King said.

Achieve

He said this was because they had seen where South Korea, which was a developing country about 40 years ago, started and worked hard to achieve its current status – one of the largest world economies. On another note, the King said they were pleased as African leaders that the President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, his government and the nation, want to extend exchange programmes with African countries, including Eswatini. As such, he said Eswatini was among the African countries that stood to benefit from about E430 billion pledged by South Korea, to assist investment initiatives in Africa.

He said the Korean Government would make available about E180 billion (US$10 billion) in development assistance to spur African cooperation initiatives by 2030 and has also committed about E250 billion (US$14 billion) to support Korean businesses to enhance trade and investment on the African continent, over the next six years. The King said in Africa, they have the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which they developed with the aim of developing the continent economically and otherwise.

Again, he said South Korea also hosted a business forum, which was attended by business leaders from various sectors of the economy in South Korea and Africa, and they shared ideas. He said there was a lot the country could benefit from the South Korean businesses, because their turnover was impressive. He said with their (South Korean businesses’) expertise, there would be no need for the country to invent new wheels, but have to utilise the knowledge gained from their Korean counterparts.

Populous

Furthermore, the King said he had a chance to tour industries in Busan Metropolitan City, which is South Korea’s second most populous city, after Seoul. He also said they saw world-class heavy plant machinery, which worked with speed as they toured HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. He said the industries played a major role in the development of the country as it engaged in trade with the rest of the world. “The good thing is that they want to extend their trade to Arica,” the King said. On the same note, the King said he also visited the Republic of Singapore, a country which also does not have minerals and has minimal land. He said to get land to develop, it had to push the sea inwards and that cost it fortunes.

Again, he said the country could learn a lot from Singapore. The King said Singapore was where it was in terms of development, because the people met and exchanged ideas, which is what the country needed. He said Singapore was advanced in terms of ICT, such that there were many things that they did using technology. Therefore, he said there was a lot that the country could learn from them as it also wanted to extend its trade to Africa.

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