The country has taken its push for international financial support to the global diplomatic stage.
Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini engaged African leaders in a high-level drive to mobilise resources for the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
Representing His Majesty King Mswati III at the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2026) in Antigua and Barbuda.
CHOGM 2026 was themed ‘Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth’. Dlamini used the international gathering to advance the king’s resource mobilisation initiative while strengthening Eswatini’s diplomatic relations with Rwanda and Ghana.
The engagements place the country at the centre of efforts to secure financial resources for the transformation and strategic priorities of the OACPS, an organisation whose membership brings together countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Under the leadership of His Majesty king Mswati III who serves as the OACPS Champion of Resource Mobilisation, the initiative seeks to unlock funding needed to strengthen the organisation’s financial sustainability and translate its ambitions into practical benefits for member states. For Eswatini, one of the key objectives remains advancing the king’s OACPS resource mobilisation mandate and ensuring that the organisation has the financial capacity to deliver on its promises to the people of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. On the sidelines of CHOGM, Dlamini, accompanied by OACPS Secretary-General Moussa Saleh Batraki held discussions with Rwandan President Paul Kagame as part of the resource mobilisation campaign.
The engagement forms part of a broader diplomatic effort to secure support and strengthen partnerships around the organisation’s transformation agenda.
The challenge now is to turn these high-level engagements into tangible financial commitments capable of advancing the interests of OACPS member states. Beyond the resource mobilisation campaign, Dlamini also held bilateral discussions with Kagame, focusing on opportunities to strengthen cooperation between Eswatini and Rwanda.
The meeting provided an opportunity to explore areas of mutual interest and reinforce relations between the two countries. Rwanda has increasingly featured in regional and international cooperation discussions, making the engagement an opportunity for the country to deepen its diplomatic and development partnerships.
Dlamini also held bilateral talks with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, with discussions centred on strengthening relations and cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The Ghana meeting adds another dimension to the country’s diplomatic engagements at the summit, as the country seeks to expand partnerships beyond its immediate region.
While details of specific agreements or financial commitments arising from the two meetings were not provided, the engagements underscore the importance of sustained diplomatic dialogue in pursuing shared development priorities.
“The initiative goes beyond simply raising money.
“It seeks to strengthen the organisation’s capacity to deliver on its strategic priorities and ensure that cooperation among its member states produces measurable benefits for their populations.
“For Eswatini, the assignment also provides an opportunity to demonstrate its role in multilateral diplomacy and in advancing the interests of developing countries,” he said. The prime minister also participated in the Heads of Government Executive Session, where he delivered an address during closed-door deliberations involving Commonwealth leaders.
“The high-level discussions covered some of the most pressing development issues facing member countries including trade and investment, climate finance, sustainable development and investment in people,” Dlamini added.
