Eswatini has sent a new top envoy to Taipei, a positive sign for Taiwan as one of its few remaining formal allies doubles down on the relationship.

• Vulindlela Kunene, Eswatini's new ambassador, presented his credentials to Taiwan's foreign minister and said he wants to lift ties to a new level.
• The timing follows a run of high-level visits: Eswatini's deputy prime minister just wrapped a trip to Taipei, and Taiwan's president made a state visit to Eswatini in May.
• Eswatini is Taiwan's only diplomatic ally in Africa, and the two have kept formal ties for 58 years — since Eswatini's independence.
• "Economic diplomacy" is the stated focus, with a joint strategic oil storage project already moving ahead.
• Kunene is a career diplomat who served at the UN in New York and in South Africa, and ran Eswatini's foreign ministry as permanent secretary.

Outlook: Expect more trade and investment deals between the two, as Taiwan works to hold on to the handful of countries that still recognize it over Beijing.