Eswatini
India's relations with Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) are close, friendly and cordial. The first resident Indian Mission in Mbabane started functioning from 13 August 2019.
Cooperation to tackle the challenge of COVID-19 Pandemic
- India donated medicines worth Rs. 1 crore on 26 June 2020. India also donated 20,000 doses of Covishield vaccines to Eswatini on 11 March 2021.
Capacity Building & Other Exchanges
- In April 2018, during his visit, Hon’ble President of India announced an increase of ITEC slots from 30 to 50 as also a customized accounting training for 50 Treasury officials at the Institute of Government Accounts and Finance in India (INGAF). In fulfillment of these commitments, almost all ITEC slots were utilized and the training of 50 treasury officials was completed in 2018. 26 emaSwati availed ITEC training in India during the training year 2019-20, which include 06 Solar Mamas, 06 Police Officers of the Royal Eswatini Police Service.
- As many as 166 emaSwati participated in 09 eITEC courses during Covid19 time so far. Out of these 09 training courses, 06 were exclusive to Eswatini.
- In 2021-22, Eswatini availed 274 eITEC training slots. In all, since the establishment of HCI Mbabane, more than 300 Emaswati took part in both eITEC and in person ITEC programmes.
- Witness protection training programme: An online training programme on Witness Protection for 23 legal professionals from the Kingdom of Eswatini was conducted by the National Law University, Jodhpur from 07-11 March 2022.
- ICCR Africa Scholarship Scheme: Eswatini fully utilized all 25 slots allotted to it in 2020-21. An additional 15 slots were approved by ICCR on popular demand among Emaswati students in the Academic Year 2021-22, upon full utilization of 25 allocated scholarship slots, as a special case. For the Academic Year 2022-23, 40 Emaswati students have been offered ICCR scholarships under Africa Scholarship Scheme.
- For the Academic Year 2023-24, we awarded 30 ICCR scholarships and requested ICCR to allocate another 20.
- Defence Training: India is also offering many defence training opportunities to Eswatini. So far, 06 Eswatini officers availed these opportunities.
- Visit of AIIMS Doctors: In coordination with the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Eswatini, eminent doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi visited Eswatini from 16-18 March 2022 and conducted Workshops for the Medical Officers, Nurses and Paramedics of Eswatini on Basic Airway Management, Difficult & Advanced Airway Management and Basic Life Support under a unilateral programme of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi for training support to African countries.
Development Cooperation (Grants/ LoCs/ Assistance)
- Agreements for two Lines of Credit for US$108.28 million for construction of Eswatini Parliament Building and US$10.4 million for establishment of a Disaster Recovery Site for the National Data Center at the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) were signed in June 2021. They are now at various stages of implementation.
- RSTP itself was constructed with a Line of Credit of US$20 million and the same was inaugurated during the visit of President of India in April 2018.
- An Agriculture Development and Mechanization Project under US$37.9 million LoC was completed earlier, which resulted in improving the maize productivity of Eswatini by six times.
- During State visit of President of India in April 2018, India gave a cash grant of US$ 1 million to the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA); in-kind donation of 700 tons of rice and 300 tons of beans for the NDMA and medicines and medical equipment worth US$ 3 million, and announced a grant assistance of US$ 400,000 for construction of irrigation infrastructure in Lubuyane in the Hhohho region (underway after the release of first instalment of US$ 200,000 in October 2019 and second and final instalment of US$ 200,000 released on 07 August 2020).
- The First Lady of India made a donation of 500 blankets to the Philani Maswati Foundation and the Khulisa Umntfwana Project, two charitable initiatives patronized by HM the Queen Mother.
- Under an MOU to strengthen bilateral cooperation in computer-aided education of children at elementary-level, three Hole-in-Wall Learning Stations were established. A total of 200 solar lamps provided by IIT Mumbai for school children in Eswatini for assembly and distribution were delivered to the school children from Sithobela on 27 February 2020.
- In December 2020, the Board of Directors of the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Trust Fund) has approved the proposal of the Kingdom of Eswatini titled “Addressing Water, Health and Poverty Nexus through WASH initiatives for Covid19 and Climate Change responses in Eswatini to receive funding to the tune of US$ 999,350/-. Mission is in regular touch with UNDP and the National Disaster Management Agency of Eswatini, who are implementing the project.
- In December 2019 assistance of US$ 250001 was given from I-UNDP fund for the project – Participatory poverty assessment.
