Allow me to pay my respects to His Majesty King Letsie III and Her Majesty the Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso

The Right Honourable the Prime Minister Ntate Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane,

The Honourable President of the Senate, Mme Mamonaheng Mokitimi,

The Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Ntate Tlohang Sekhamane,

His Lordship the Chief Justice, Ntate. Sakoane Peter Sakoane,

The Honourable Deputy Prime Minister, Mme Nthomeng Majara,

Honourable Ministers in His Majesty’s Cabinet, and in particular:

Honourable Minister of Health, Selibe Mochoboroane,

Honourable Minister of Education and Training, Dr Ntoi Rapapa,

Honourable Minister of Information, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation, Nthati Moorosi,

Honourable Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane,

Honourable Minister of Trade, Industry and Small Business, Mokhethi Shelile,

Honourable Minister of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Lebona Lephema,

Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Mpotjoane Lejone,

Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Thabo Mofosi,

Honourable Minister of Natural Resources, Mohlomi Moleko,

Honourable Minister of Gender, Youth, and Social Development, Pitso Lesaoana,

Honourable Minister of Public Works and Transport, Neo Matjato Moteane,

Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Tšeliso Mokhosi,

Honourable Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Limpho Tau,

Honourable Minister of Energy, Professor Nqosa Mahao,

Honourable Minister of Tourism, Sports, Arts and Culture, Motlatsi Maqelepo,

Honourable Minister of Public Service, Mputhi Mputhi,

Honourable Minister of Environment and Forestry, Letsema Adontši,

Honourable Minister of Law and Justice, Richard Ramoeletsi,

Their Excellences Heads of EU Member States delegations and members of their teams,

Honourable Vice-President of the Senate, Ntate Tsukutlane Au,

Honourable Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mme Tšepang Tšita-Mosena,

Honourable Members of the Senate and Principal Chiefs,

Honourable Members of the National Assembly,

Principal Secretaries, Heads of Departments and other representatives of Government Ministries and other public institutions,

Members of the Media,

All protocols observed.

Bo 'M'e le bo-Ntate, Khotsong

Honourable Minister Neo Matjato Moteane,

I am very honoured to be co-chairing with you today the 2024 Partnership Dialogue between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the European Union. On behalf of the Ambassadors and heads of the Delegations of eleven  EU Member States present here today together with their team, as well as in the name of the EU Delegation in Lesotho , I wish to thank you for the warm welcome and for hosting us here today.

Equally, I wish to express our collective appreciation to the Honourable Ministers, Principal Secretaries, other senior officials and members of their teams who are participating to the dialogue this morning. The strong participation both last year and this year is very encouraging, in the same way as we are grateful for yesterday’s successful ceremony of signature of the Metsi a Lesotho programme, presided by Hon. Neo Matjato Moteane.

For the second year, we meet in the course of Europe Month. I hope this will become a tradition!

While the EU and its Member States work very closely with Government, other public institutions, businesses, academia, media and the broader civil society year round, the annual partnership dialogue is a milestone to deepen our mutual relations, highlight positive developments, encourage new initiatives and iron out any differences.

The recent Samoa Agreement has reiterated the importance of regular formal dialogues between partner countries and the EU. The partnership dialogue is the successor of the Political dialogue held under Art. 8 of the “Cotonou Agreement” putting the emphasis on the aspect of peer-to peer exchange.

The European Union is proud to maintain a positive and fruitful relationship with Lesotho since 1976.  As we approach the milestone of 50 years of partnership, we are committed to deepen and strengthen our exchanges. The presence today of Ambassadors and representatives of eleven member States - Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden -  is a testament of the interest of the EU for a strong relation with the Mountain Kingdom, encouraged also by the very solid dialogue conducted exactly one year ago. It is according to my record the largest participation and the one including more Ambassadors. After the slowdown in contacts and new initiatives experienced during the pandemic period, I have witnessed as well a strong momentum in bilateral relations of the Kingdom with Member States and I am confident that they will bear fruits in the near future, beyond the already major contributions of Member States via the EU programmes.

During the tour de table following our speeches, Honourable Minister, I will invite the colleagues to introduce themselves

At this juncture, I would like to thank you for the incredible efforts by the Government of Lesotho and in particular by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to process ten  accreditations from the beginning of this year with four ceremonies organised yesterday, to make possible the participation of the designated Ambassadors to this exercise. Through you, I would also like to extend the deepest gratitude to His Majesty King Letsie III for his flexibility in accommodating the ceremonies in his diary.

Finally, I take this opportunity to congratulate Lesotho on its 200^th anniversary. We are encouraged by the different initiatives the Government and different stakeholders are taking to foster patriotism and revamp the national brand. We look forward to the culmination of the celebrations in October marking a new beginning of peace and prosperity for all the people of Lesotho and giving new momentum for the longstanding EU- Lesotho partnership

Introduction of High Level representatives – tour de table

1. Germany, H.E. Andreas Peschke
2. Poland, H.E. Adam Burakowski
3. France, H.E. David Martinon
4. Spain, H.E. Raimundo Robredo Rubio
5. Slovakia, H.E. Vladimir Grácz
6. Italy, H.E. Alberto Vecchi
7. Czech Republic, H.E. Tomas Ulicny
8. Belgium, Deputy Head of Mission Ms Amandine Sonck
9. Ireland, Deputy Head of Mission, Mr Tim Reilly
10. Portugal, Deputy Head of Mission, Mr Antonio Sabido Costa
11. Sweden, Cooperation Officer, Ms. Veronica Perzanowska.
12. Czech Republic, Mr David Vaverka
13. France, Mr Alexandre Brochard
14. France, Ms Cecelia Kok
15. France, Ms Sophie Boulé
16. Germany, Mr Axel Beyer
17. Ireland, Ms Sibusisiwe Nkosi
18. Italy, Mr Luigi Perlini
19. Italy, Mr Giovanni Manicone Leone
20. Poland, Mr Mariusz Błachowicz
21. Slovakia, Ms Lubica Plšková