King Mswati III of Swaziland has said that African countries could do a lot more through regional blocks like SADC in improving the living standards of their people by enchancing the exisiting economic and social cooperation.
The King was speaking during a brief ceremony held at Lozitha palace to bid farewell to the First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete who was in Swaziland to attend the annual Reed Dance celebrations and visit various development projects at the invitation of Swaziland's Queen Mother Her Majesty Indlovukazi.
Her Majesty Queen Mother Indlovukazi is the Mother to King Mswati III of Swaziland.
"Visits such as this one and that of your husband President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete to our Kingdom recently is a clear sign of cordial and friendly relation that exists between our two nations and there is a lot that Tanzania and Swaziland can do in future" the King said.
Freindly relation among African countries, King Mswati said could bring African nations together in facing adverse global economic challenges that imapct negatively on most African countries.
"Recently the price of most agricultural products produced in Africa has been dropping annually slowing down the economic growth in most African countries.This necessitates closer economic cooperation among African countries through increased trade and exchange of expertese in various socio-economic fields," He insisted.
Speaking during the same occassion, Mama Kikwete thanked the Queen Mother for iviting her to Swaziland saying that the visit has been an eye opener for her witnessing how Swazi culture was well preserved over the years.
" Through a well organised programme I was able to visit various development community projects in Swaziland.I was particularly impressed by the Queen Mother's intitiatives in helping poor rural women by processing and marketing a Marula fruit making various beauty natural products. I commend Her Majesty for this inititative that has made a different in lives of thousands of Swazi rural women," she said.
On the Reed Dance, the First Lady Said she was impressed by the fact that it brought together Swazi girls from different calibre and by doing so forge national unity and learn how to abstain from sex until marriage a factor that was instrumental in protecting the girls from the deadly HIV/AIDS virus.
Mama Kikwete commended the Queen Mother and the entire Swazi Royal family for preserving most traditional norms and values quoting the Tanzanian Father of the Nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who once said "A nation without a culture of its own was a dead nation".
Speaking later at her Ludzidzini Royal Residence in Lobamba area,The Queen Mother thanked President Kikwete for allowing the First lady to attend the Reed Dance and Swazi's cultural day Umhlanga saying that she will honour Mama Kikwete's invitation to visit Tanzania in the near future.
During the coulourful farewell ceremony the First lady respectively exchanged gifts with King Mswati III and the Queen Mother and later met Tanzanians living in Swaziland.
Mama Kikwete and her delegation that include among others two members of parliament Hon. Hulda Kibacha(East Africa) and Lucy Mayenga (Special seats youths), departed for Tripoli Libya where she will attend the meeting of Africas First Ladies' Organisation against Against AIDS.
Tanzania,
is a country on the east coast of east Africa. 
