[25/October/2009]

By: Mahmoud Assamiee

SANA'A, Oct. 25 (Saba)- Yemen and Kingdom of Swaziland have signed a treaty to establishing diplomatic relations.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Hasan and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Swaziland signed the treaty last Wednesday at the Presidential Office with the presence of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and King Muswati 111 of the Kingdom of Swaziland.

On Thursday, King Muswati the Third held talk session with Yemeni businessmen headed by Minister of Industry and Trade Yahya al-Mutawakel. The king informed Yemeni businessmen about promising opportunities in his country and the purpose of his visit to Yemen.

"We came to this beautiful country to seek investment opportunities. We ask Yemenis to come to invest in my country and work together from both sides," said the king. "We have come to see location (of Yemen) and the whole region. The country (his country) is a trade center for the region."

He talked about his country's admiration in expanding economic relations with the countries in the region. "We extended our work to the Middle East and came (to Yemen) to see what we will find in the country. There is business (in Swaziland) from Africa, Europe and America and the chance is available to extend the work in the Middle East."

He talked about his country's intention to invest in Yemen "we have a team here to find more information about the country of Yemen to see business sector and then decide to come to invest in the country."

Minister al-Mutawakel congratulate the king on signing a treaty for establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, saying the treaty is a basic step to strength relations between the two countries.

Al-Mutawakel said trade relations between Yemen and the Kingdom of Swaziland are not new and there is trade exchange between the two countries worth $ seven million.

"There is a chance to enhance these relations between us," said Minister al-Mutawakel. "We will follow up the president's directions to boost economic and trade relations between us."

He added that an expanded meeting will be held between investors from the two parts.

For his part, Chairman of Yemeni General Union of Chambers of Industries and Trade Mohammad Abdo Saeed expressed his hope that the visit of Swaziland's delegation headed by King Muswatti 111 would lead to boosted economic and trade relations between the two countries.

He said there were trade relations between the two countries 25 years ago when Yemen was importing citrus from Swaziland but stopped.

He said Yemeni businessmen will organize a visit to investigate investment opportunities there.

"We hop to expand trade relations between the two countries and the visit of businessmen will result in good results," said Saeed, saying that Swaziland will be the country number 16 added to the other 15 African countries Yemen has signed trade treaties with.

King Suwati the Third and the accompanying delegation arrived Yemen last Wednesday with regional explorative tour during which he has sought economic and diplomatic relations with countries in the region.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh and a number of ministers, military and high ranking officials received the king at the airport.

During his visit to Yemen, King Muswati the Third and his delegation made a tourist visit in Sana'a Old City.

He started his tour at the Assaleh Mosque where he expressed admiration of the architecture and component of this big Islamic monument which reflects Yemeni civilization.

The Swazi King also admired what he saw of the architecture of the Old City of Sana'a, noting that Yemen's architecture reflects nobility and beauty and richness.

Touring the city and its old markets, the King admired the unique architectural features of its buildings and traditional industries and handcrafts and others.

He also visited the National Museum and the Military Museum located in Sana'a, expressing admiration for the historical museums and its contents.

The King and his entourage also paid a tourist visit to the rocky palace located at Wadi Dhahr area on the outskirts of Sana'a. Head of Yemeni honoring delegation Yahya al-Shuaibi gave information to the king about this unique Yemeni monument and the area surrounding it.

On Friday, King Muswati and his cortege paid tourist tour to Suqatra archipelago where they enjoyed the beauty of ecotourism. He then headed to Aden city where he visited Aden Refineries. He then toured the historical and tourist sites in the city.

The Kingdom of Swaziland, sometimes called Ngwane, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south, and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique.

Swaziland is a small country with an area of 17,000 square kilometers and population of more than a million people.
The population is primarily ethnic Swazis whose language is siSwati,though English is spoken as a second language.

Swaziland's economy is dominated by the service industry, manufacturing and agriculture. Some 75 percent of the population are employed in subsistence farming, and 60 percent of the population live on less than US$ 1.25 per day. Swaziland's main trading partner is South Africa, and it currency is pegged to the South African rand