From October 3 to 4, 2016, on behalf of the Chinese government, Ambassador Xu Jinghu, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on African Affairs, attended the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the independence of Lesotho held in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, during which Ambassador Xu Jinghu met respectively with King Letsie III, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Tlohang Sekhamane of Lesotho.

Ambassador Xu Jinghu delivered the congratulatory letter signed by President Xi Jinping to Letsie III in person, and spoke positively of all the achievements Lesotho has made since its independence. Ambassador Xu Jinghu told the Lesotho side that China and Lesotho are good friends sharing sincere friendship, good partners with mutual benefit and win-win results as well as good brothers standing together through thick and thin. In recent years, both countries have witnessed sturdier foundation of China-Lesotho political mutual trust and constantly advancing practical cooperation in various fields. Attaching great importance to developing relations with Lesotho, China is willing to make joint efforts with Lesotho to step up integration efforts and actively promote the implementation of outcomes from the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Lesotho, so as to bring more benefits to the people of Lesotho at an early date.

Letsie III expressed his sincere thanks to President Xi Jinping for sending a congratulatory letter on the 50th anniversary of Lesotho’s independence as well as his gratitude to the Chinese government for assigning a representative to attend the celebration. He lauded that such gesture is conducive to consolidating and deepening the friendship, unity and cooperation between Lesotho and China. Letsie III said that China has offered strong support to Lesotho’s economic and social development for a long time. After the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, China has taken immediate actions to facilitate the implementation of summit outcomes in Lesotho. The Lesotho side fervently hopes that the implementation of summit outcomes can achieve positive progress at an early date, so as to inject strong impetus to its economic development.

Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili noted that Lesotho highly values bilateral relations as well, and expects further development of Lesotho-China relations. The Lesotho side believes that with the help of development partners including China, Lesotho will obtain greater development achievements in the next 50 years. It is hoped that both sides can take the implementation of outcomes from the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit as an opportunity to continuously deepen and expand cooperation in all areas, so as to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Tlohang Sekhamane expressed that China is a real friend of Lesotho. The Lesotho side is willing to further enhance political mutual trust, cement cooperation in all areas and actively push for the effective implementation of summit outcomes with China.