On September 12, 2019, the Hand-over Ceremony of the Emergency Food Aid from China to Lesotho was held in Maseru. H.E. Mr. Lei Kezhong, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom of Lesotho and Hon. Halebonoe Setšabi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of Lesotho signed the hand-over certificates on behalf of each other's government. About 40 people attended the event, including Hon. Temeki Tšolo, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr. Lefu Manyokole, Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (Economic Affairs), Mrs 'Mamonyane Bohloko, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Mr. Ma Guoliang, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy,and local media reporters.
In his remarks, Ambassador Lei said that Lesotho has experienced frequent droughts in recent years, and the challenges of food security have become increasingly serious. In response to the requests of the Lesotho Government, the Chinese Government has provided emergency food aid to the Lesotho Government for three years consecutively since 2016. This batch of food aid of 3157 metric tons of parboiled rice, with a value of around 50 million maloti, was the largest in amount over the 3 years, which fully reflects the deep friendship between the two countries. Ambassador Lei also pointed out that China will actively implement the Eight Major Initiatives of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and continue to strengthen cooperation with the Lesotho Government on food security. Through implementing food aid projects, pushing forward the construction of Lesotho's basic modern agricultureinfrastructure and developing agricultural human resources cooperation projects, China will help Lesotho to improve the food security level and socio-economic development.
Hon. Halebonoe Setšabi, on behalf of the Lesotho Government and Basotho people, expressed gratitude to the generous assistance from the Chinese government and Chinese people. He said that the relations between China and Lesotho are currently at the historical high. The bilateral cooperation, which spans across a myriad of sectors, has grown, deepened and matured over the years.Lesotho is willing to work with China to actively implement the outcome of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, further promote the socio-economic development of Lesotho and push bilateral relations to a new level. He reaffirmed that the LesothoGovernment would always firmly adhere to the One China policy and believe that China will eventually achieve peaceful reunification.
Hon. Temeki Tšolo said that Lesotho has suffered severe drought for the past few years, resulting with over 500 thousand families throughout Lesotho in food security crisis. The emergency food aid provided by the Chinese Government will help the Lesotho Government alleviate the food shortage in a timely manner. He sincerely thanked the Chinese Government and people for always extending a helping hand to LesothoGovernment and Basotho people.
The ceremony was reported by LTV and other media of Lesotho.