By King’s Correspondents
NEW YORK, USA – African nations must transition from exporting raw, unprocessed minerals to local industrial processing and value addition.
Instead, they ought to set up a regional trading hub for precious and rare earth minerals.
The sugesstion was made by His Majesty King Mswati III to global leaders at the 81st UN General Assembly.
The initiative, he said, would retain economic value within the continent, create sustainable employment for young people and strengthen national revenue bases.
Highlighting the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the King argued that regional integration provides the proper framework for domestic manufacturing and intra-African trade.
He stressed that Eswatini is expanding its strategic investments in industrialisation and mining to position its domestic economy effectively within global supply chains.
EL NIÑO THREAT: KING MAKES CASE FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE AND FOOD SECURITY
NEW YORK, USA – The international community has been urged to deliver on climate finance commitments as southern Africa confronts one of the most severe El Niño-induced droughts on record.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, His Majesty the King emphasised that developing nations produce minimal global emissions yet shoulder the worst impacts of extreme weather events, changing climate patterns, and crop failures.
He called for greater climate justice, including predictable funding and technology transfers to help vulnerable nations adapt.
He also informed the Assembly of food security initiatives in Eswatini which include expanded state subsidies for subsistence farmers, increased investments in research and accelerated major dam construction projects to expand irrigation networks in the Lowveld region.
“Our national objective is to ensure that every family has access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. This is a matter of basic human dignity,” the King added.
