Renewal of Relations between CAFRAD and the Kingdom of Eswatini: Towards Strengthened Cooperation

The meeting between the Director General of CAFRAD, Dr. Coffi Dieudonné ASSOUVI, and His Excellency, Mr. Siphelele Welcome Dludlu, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Eswatini to the Kingdom of Morocco in Rabat, took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The meeting began with the Director General expressing his gratitude to the Embassy and the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini for the significant opportunity His Excellency offered him to renew the ties between CAFRAD and Eswatini.

The discussions continued with a detailed presentation of CAFRAD, its missions, vision, and its various areas of intervention. These areas include scientific research, training and development of administrative skills, documentation, the publication of scientific journals, as well as the organization of continental-scale events such as conferences, forums, or seminars. The Director General reminded that CAFRAD was created by African countries to serve the continent in promoting African leadership and strengthening public management capacities in Africa.

Mr. Dludlu expressed particular interest in the training programs offered by CAFRAD, especially in digital transformation, eco-development, development of e-government platforms, and blue economy. He emphasized the need to create, at the African level, a platform that would gather the best government practices, allowing countries to draw inspiration from them. According to him, the current importance placed on information and data is crucial, as their consolidation enables the identification of best practices in governance. CAFRAD, in this perspective, aspires to become a center of excellence for best and innovative practices for all African countries.

In response, Dr. Assouvi proposed to Mr. Dludlu to put CAFRAD in contact with the relevant bodies and institutions in Eswatini, so that the Organization could identify and recruit trainers, experts, and researchers who would share their expertise in specific areas with other CAFRAD member states.

For his part, Mr. Dludlu expressed his desire to submit to his Government the proposal to actively reintegrate CAFRAD, an initiative strongly encouraged and welcomed by the Director General. He clarified that the goal of his embassy tour is precisely to rekindle member states’ interest in active participation in CAFRAD while seeking to attract new member states.

This meeting thus marked an important moment to strengthen institutional ties and create a new momentum in the cooperation between CAFRAD and the Kingdom of Eswatini.