Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini delivering a keynote address at the Ketagelan Forum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan), on behalf of His Majesty King Mswati III.
BY: NOSIPHO MKHIZE | JOURNALIST
TAIPEI — Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini has elevated food security to a national security priority, placing agriculture and resilient food systems at the centre of Eswatini’s response to climate change, economic uncertainty and disruptions to global supply chains.
Dlamini made the declaration on Tuesday, August 4, while delivering a keynote address at the Ketagelan Forum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan), on behalf of His Majesty King Mswati III.
In an address examining changes in the global political and economic order, the Prime Minister argued that the definition of national security must extend beyond traditional military considerations.
“Food security is national security; Energy security is national security; Water security is national security; Health security is national security,” Dlamini said.
He also included cybersecurity and economic resilience among the strategic issues countries must protect as international instability, technological change and climate pressures reshape national economies.
FOOD PRODUCTION BECOMES STRATEGIC ISSUE
The statement gives agriculture greater strategic significance within Eswatini’s development agenda, particularly as countries confront climate change and vulnerabilities in international trade and supply chains.
According to the Prime Minister’s keynote address, armed conflicts, geopolitical competition and economic uncertainty are already disrupting global trade, investment and supply chains, while climate change continues to test countries’ resilience.
“The challenges confronting humanity are interconnected. Our partnerships must therefore be equally interconnected, comprehensive and forward-looking,” Dlamini said.
His comments put food production within a wider national resilience framework in which reliable access to food, water and energy is increasingly treated as essential to economic stability and national development.
The Prime Minister did not announce a new agriculture financing package or bilateral farming project during the address. However, he identified agriculture as one of the areas in which cooperation between Eswatini and Taiwan has already contributed to the Kingdom’s development.
Dlamini described Taiwan as a “trusted and dependable partner” across agriculture, healthcare, education, vocational training, digital innovation, industrial development and private enterprise.
AFRICA CAN STRENGTHEN GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
The Prime Minister also positioned African agriculture as part of the solution to growing international concerns over food security.
“Africa is increasingly becoming one of the defining frontiers of global opportunity,” he said, adding that the continent “holds extraordinary agricultural potential capable of strengthening global food security.”
He said Africa’s young population, natural resources and growing digital economy give the continent an opportunity to play a larger role in the global economy.
However, Dlamini warned that Africa’s future would depend on whether countries invest sufficiently in education, science, innovation, entrepreneurship, skills development and digital transformation.
The key challenge, he argued, is whether Africa continues largely as an exporter of raw materials or becomes a significant participant in higher-value and knowledge-based economic activity.
For agriculture, that argument places greater emphasis on moving beyond primary production towards processing, technology, research, innovation and value addition.
“This is why partnerships that promote industrialisation, technology transfer, research collaboration and human capital development are indispensable,” Dlamini told the Forum.
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN FOCUS
The emphasis on technology transfer could prove particularly important for Eswatini agriculture as the country seeks more productive, resilient and commercially competitive farming systems.
The Prime Minister said technological advancement should expand opportunities while remaining inclusive and accountable, arguing that innovation should help societies rather than deepen existing inequalities.
His comments also reinforce agriculture’s position within the broader Eswatini–Taiwan relationship, where cooperation is increasingly being framed around skills, innovation, industrial development and sustainable growth.
Dlamini said international partnerships should ultimately be measured by whether they improve people’s lives.
The message emerging from Taipei is therefore broader than diplomacy: Eswatini is placing food security alongside water, energy, health and economic resilience as a strategic national concern, while looking to international cooperation, technology transfer and stronger productive capacity to prepare for an increasingly uncertain global economy.
For farmers and agribusinesses, the policy direction is equally significant — agriculture is no longer being framed simply as a rural livelihood sector, but as part of the infrastructure upon which national security, economic resilience and future prosperity depend.
