Bilateral meeting with His Excellency Lejone Mpotjoane, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho

Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and His Excellency Lejone Mpotjoane, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho, met today at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister and expressed his appreciation for the close engagement between FAO and Lesotho, referencing the dedication of His Majesty King Letsie III, to his role as the FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition and the positive impact of his advocacy. The Director-General further noted Lesotho’s active high-level engagement with key FAO events, as well as the effective collaboration at country level.

The Minister recognized the longstanding and fruitful working relation between the Organization and Lesotho and referred to the priority agenda for the country to transform its agrifood system. In particular, he referred to the establishment of an Agriculture Development Implementation Agency which aims to close the gap between policy and work on the ground. The Minister also referred to action on scaling up climate smart technologies to build resilience against climate shocks and to ensure efficient use of water.

The Minister also referred to the creation of centralized market aggregation centers for the efficient storage, processing and packaging of agriculture produce. With FAO’s assistance these centers are also linked with school feeding programs to ensure home grown solutions to healthy and sustainable diets. The Director-General agreed that this was an area that deserved particular attention and that FAO’s experience with post-harvest treatment centers in other countries should be used as a template for further progress.

Finally, the pair discussed FAO’s initiatives to increase investments in agriculture and recognized Lesotho’s active preparation for the presentation of its investment plan at the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum during the World Food Forum at FAO Headquarters in Rome from 14 to 18 October 2024.