{"id":77035,"date":"2025-09-08T15:24:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T15:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit"},"modified":"2025-09-08T16:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:04:24","slug":"icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit","title":{"rendered":"ICMA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH ESWATINI IN LANDMARK VISIT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span><b>The International City\/County Management Association (ICMA) paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Pholile Shakantu. The historic visit highlights Eswatini\u2019s growing role in fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange in local governance.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Founded in 1914 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the ICMA is the world\u2019s leading association dedicated to advancing the professional management of local governments. With more than 13 000 members worldwide, the organization drives innovation, good governance, and sustainable urban development across cities and towns.<\/p>\n<p><b>A Delegation of Global Leaders<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The 30-member delegation was led by ICMA Chairperson Mr. Mike Land and Lungile Dlamini, CEO of the Municipal Council of Manzini and ICMA Vice President representing the international region. They were warmly hosted by Mbabane City CEO, Gciniwe Fakudze, and the Mayor of Mbabane.<\/p>\n<p>The delegation included ICMA Office representatives, Board members, and Association members, all united by their mission to strengthen local government capacities worldwide. Their presence in Eswatini marks a significant step in aligning global expertise with the country\u2019s development aspirations.<\/p>\n<p><b>Key Activities to Inspire Progress<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The visit features a series of impactful activities designed to promote learning, collaboration, and growth:<\/p>\n<p><b>Sustainable Urban Development Seminar<\/b> \u2013 Sharing international best practices and strategies for building resilient cities.<\/p>\n<p><b>Manzini\u2013Mbabane Corridor Site Tours <\/b>\u2013 Exploring innovative urban development initiatives shaping Eswatini\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p><b>Eswatini International Trade Fair Participation <\/b>\u2013 Gaining insight into the country\u2019s economic and investment landscape.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cultural and Tourism Experiences <\/b>\u2013 Engaging with Eswatini\u2019s rich traditions and natural heritage to deepen appreciation of the nation\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p><b>A Pathway to Shared Growth<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Minister Shakantu emphasized the importance of the visit, noting that international collaboration is key to advancing Eswatini\u2019s development agenda. The ICMA delegation, in turn, highlighted the unique opportunity to learn from Eswatini\u2019s resilience, cultural richness, and commitment to sustainable growth.<\/p>\n<p>This landmark engagement signals not just a courtesy call, but a pathway to long-term cooperation in building stronger, more innovative, and inclusive communities across Eswatini.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Eswatini<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Eswatini. The International City\/County Management Association (ICMA) paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Pholile Shakantu. The historic visit highlights Eswatini\u2019s growing role in fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange in local governance. Founded in 1914 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the ICMA is the world\u2019s leading association dedicated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":77034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-77035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ICMA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH ESWATINI IN LANDMARK VISIT - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The International City\/County Management Association (ICMA) paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ICMA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH ESWATINI IN LANDMARK VISIT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The International City\/County Management Association (ICMA) paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-08T15:24:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-08T16:04:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/09\/sm_1757334832.330284.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"ICMA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH ESWATINI IN LANDMARK VISIT\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-08T15:24:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-08T16:04:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit\"},\"wordCount\":347,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/09\/sm_1757334832.330284.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/icma-strengthens-ties-with-eswatini-in-landmark-visit\",\"name\":\"ICMA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH ESWATINI IN LANDMARK VISIT - 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