Taiwan and the Kingdom of Swaziland have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on antiterrorism, immigration affairs and the prevention of human trafficking, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday.
The agreement will enable Taiwan and Swaziland to work closely within the confines of the law to jointly battle cross-border issues of human trafficking, illegal immigration and smuggling, and exchange information on suspected terrorist activities, the agency said.
To tackle the problem of illegal immigration, for example, the two countries will cooperate on the identification of fake passports, said Frank Fu (傅水添), section chief of the agency’s foreign affairs division.
“As Republic of China [ROC] passport holders can now enter many countries visa-free, an increasing number of Chinese citizens are using fake ROC passports to enter other countries,” Fu said.
NIA Director-General Mo Tien-hu (莫天虎) said that Taiwan has been listed as a Tier 1 country in the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report for five consecutive years — the only Asian country other than South Korea to have done so — and is willing to share its experience with other countries.
The memorandum was signed by Mo in Taipei on March 17 and by Swazi Ministry of Home Affairs Principal Secretary Anthony Masilela in Swaziland on Wednesday last week.
The signing of the MOU makes Swaziland the 13th country in the world, and the second African nation after The Gambia, to sign such an agreement with Taiwan. Other countries include the US, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Guatemala.
Fu told reporters that the NIA will likely sign agreements with three more countries by the end of this year, but declined to name them because talks are ongoing.
