The U.S. Embassy in Eswatini held two business workshops at the ongoing Eswatini International Trade Fair on Monday and Tuesday.
On Monday, the embassy hosted a session on H2 visas, which are temporary work visas for non-agricultural workers. The session featured representatives from different recruitment agencies who discussed the exciting working opportunities available for Emaswati in the United States.
On Tuesday, the embassy joined forces with the USAID Africa Trade and Investment Program and the Eswatini Revenue Authority to host a capacity-building event for Eswatini businesses. The event focused on encouraging the utilization of AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides preferential market access for goods exported from Eswatini to the United States.
Chargé d’Affaires Earl Miller also took the opportunity to tour some of the stalls of USAID- and PEPFAR-supported organizations at the trade fair.
In a statement, the embassy said it was “thrilled” to participate in the workshops and to “share our commitment to supporting Eswatini’s economic growth goals.”
The embassy also quoted several experts who spoke at the AGOA event, including Christopher Wall, the U.S. Embassy’s Economic Officer, who said that the United States is “fully confident” that the Government of Eswatini will “seize this opportunity to make progress on important issues and continue to meet AGOA’s eligibility requirements.”
Thammy Dlamini, the Africa Trade and Investment Program’s Senior Country Representative for Eswatini and Angola, said that the program is “in a drive to encourage the exports of more products to the U.S.” because “currently, there is generally an under-utilization of the AGOA facility.”
And Sibusiso Mnisi, the Exports Promotion Manager at the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority, urged businesses to “not just focus on domestic markets, but to expand to regional and international markets.”
The embassy said that it is “committed to working with Eswatini businesses to seize these opportunities and to empower Emaswati on their path to global success.”
