TAIPEI/MBABANE - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrived on Tuesday in Eswatini, Taipei’s last African ally, saying the island will continue to confidently engage with the world and show it is a force for good.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory with no right to state-to-state relations, now has formal ties with only 13 countries, almost all small, less developed nations in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, such as Belize and Nauru.

In March, Honduras ended decades of ties with Taiwan.

The Taiwanese delegation signed three memorandums of understanding with the southern African country after meeting Eswatini’s King Mswati III.

Taiwan committed to providing US$1 million (S$1.4 million) to help the kingdom establish a fund aimed at supporting women in initiating businesses, said Eswatini’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at the airport before leaving Taiwan, Ms Tsai said Eswatini was a “familiar old friend”.

“Not only will Taiwan’s footsteps to the world not stop, we will continue to move forward more firmly and self-confidently, so that the world can see Taiwan’s steady force for good,” she said, in comments broadcast live by the presidential office.

Ms Tsai is in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, from Sept 5 to 7 for the 55th anniversary of the country’s independence, and also marking 55 years of bilateral relations.

Eswatini is almost entirely surrounded by South Africa, which Chinese President Xi Jinping visited in August.

Ms Tsai flew directly to Eswatini and did not stop over anywhere, unlike visits to Latin America which require transits via the United States that always anger China.

She last visited Eswatini in 2018, and this time, she is accompanied by Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua.

Taiwan has provided large amounts of aid to the small southern African country ruled by an absolute monarchy, including antiviral medication in 2021 to help King Mswati III recover from Covid-19. REUTERS