Ezulwini – Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pholile Shakantu, told local journalists that the ICC Ezulwini Palazzo will be hosting meetings and stimulating the economy.
The minister was briefing journalists on Wednesday for the first time since His Majesty King Mswati III officiated, ahead of the facility receiving the Organisation for African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) and European Union Parliamentarians delegation for their seven-day meeting running from May 7 to the 14th.
“This will be our first conference that will be hosted in this newly opened ICC,” she said, adding, “and gives us great pleasure as the government that immediately after the opening of the ICC, we are now going to host an international conference where we’ll be receiving delegates from Europe from Africa from Caribbean and the Pacific countries.” 
The parliamentary OACPS-EU assembly was later unveiled by the Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba. The conference starts tomorrow and will end next Thursday and is expected to feature at least 106 different nationalities.
Shakuntu urged the citizens to be hospitable to the country’s guests.
“We are requesting EmaSwati to welcome all the delegates that will be arriving and business owners who will have an opportunity to interact whether it is the hotels, restaurants and other facilities where they will visit to welcome them and give them the warm EmaSwati experience.
“This is a great opportunity for the nation following the opening of the ICC by His Majesty,” she said.
Shakantu said “a lot more meetings will take place in this new facility where we will now be hosting meetings of international standard.”
She said the hospitality industry is expected to benefit from accommodation bookings, meal provision, and job opportunities, including sourcing a pool of local translators to meet the delegation’s needs.
The minister advised EmaSwati to prepare themselves to offer various kinds of support for a conferencing of this magnitude, besides their accommodation and meals but also in areas such as transportation, among others.
“All these will be provided by EmaSwati and that opens a great opportunity for the business community and for the growing economy of the country. Also translators as well as people who know languages, like now we have 106 countries speaking different languages. So people who have those skills in languages will be needed here in this facility there’s translations that happen so all of those services need to be provided,” she said.
