The event was also a Team Europe effort with the presence of French Ambassador, Yann Pradeau, accredited to the Kingdom of Eswatini but based in Mozambique.

In his speech during the occasion, EU Ambassador to Eswatini, Karsten Mecklenburg, said this year marked 75 years since the birth of the European Union on 9 May 1950 – five years after the end of World War II, saying the EU was born out of the ashes of war as a peace project.  

He said since then, the EU has gone a long way towards unity, peace and prosperity as well as a major global actor greatly contributing to peace, stability and sustainable growth around the world. 

“Most importantly, it has been the very ideas of solidarity, democracy, fundamental freedoms, mutual dependence and the strengthening of multilateralism and international law that has been at the heart of the creation of the European Union,” said Ambassador Mecklenburg.

He added that, given its historical background as a peace project, the EU was committed to peace, partnership and cooperation within its borders and worldwide. 

“Even when faced with the greatest challenges, we stand for unity in diversity, working with our partners, including the Kingdom of Eswatini, to promote open dialogue, shared stability, prosperity and universal values. 

“We are also a reliable and predictable partner and invest in mutually beneficial relations based on trust and respect. We defend and promote a rules-based international order in the mutual interest of all – big and small countries and their citizen, Not the law of the strongest. We strongly defend the role of multilateral institutions, international law and cooperation,” said Ambassador Mecklenburg.

On the EU’s partnership with Eswatini, the Ambassador said the EU has, for over 50 years now,  contributed billions of Emalangeni to help the country improve access to clean and potable water, electricity, free primary education, health (including access to vaccines), sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, infrastructure development, strengthening of governance, democracy and human rights, social protection, disaster risk management, institutional capacity building and trade facilitation. 

“Illustrating some of the actual impact and representing some of the beneficiaries of our numerous interventions – you would see roads and bridges, children going to school, farmers presenting their harvest and small entrepreneurs seeing into new business opportunities. It has in fact been most gratifying and touching when His Majesty, at our first encounter two weeks ago, shared with me that during his recent tours of the country many of his interlocutors in remote communities referred to the great help that this or that EU project had provided to them. This is in the end what counts – that our intervention has a real impact,” said the Ambassador, adding that the EU will remain the same true and principled friend to Eswatini.

On the other hand, Prince Guduza, representing His Majesty King Mswati III, commended the EU for its peace initiatives, saying Eswatini fully supports the EU in promoting and defending a rule-based international order and not the law of the strongest.

The King also appreciated the EU’s continued support to Eswatini’s development initiatives, saying this will go a long way in uplifting the quality of life of Emaswati, particularly the poor and marginalised.