Regional Integration and Trade, COVID-19 recovery and National Reforms were among the critical issues that were discussed during the annual Lesotho-EU Political Dialogue held in Maseru on Tuesday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Mrs. Matšepo Ramakoae disclosed this when briefing the media about the dialogue. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations led the Lesotho delegation while the European Union (EU) delegation was led by His Excellency Head of Delegation of the European Union in Lesotho, Dr Christian Manahl.
Giving details of the meeting, Mrs. Ramakoae said the Lesotho Government briefed the participants about the Bills to be put in place as far as reforms are concerned and that the latter is still in progress.
Mrs. Ramakoae added that partners were also informed of the challenges facing the country due to COVID-19 as well as Climate Change and these include drought and recent heavy rains, saying the partners have agreed to assist the country to recover from these challenges.
According to the Minister, the meeting also discussed the vaccination of healthcare workers (as front liners) against COVID-19 and that COVAX has promised to provide the country with more vaccines, saying the government will use every vaccine that has passed the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
Another issue discussed was the current crisis in Mozambique, in which, Mrs. Ramakoae said Lesotho as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member state is involved.
She added that they informed their partners about the country’s status with the SADC, saying Lesotho is no longer the top of the SADC Summit agenda as it has always been the case.
Also speaking during the media briefing, Dr Manahl said the meeting agreed on the recovery plan from COVID-19 as all societies need to live in the midst of the pandemic.
The Ambassador noted that the EU is aware that not only the pandemic hit the world but Climate Change, poverty and human rights have also become the challenges, remarking that these can only be overcome through cooperation.
Discussions also covered the National Reforms, regional political issues of relevance in Southern Africa including regional integration on issues of trade between Lesotho and the European Union, in particular in the context of the economic partnership agreement and on socio-economic recovery as countries gradually emerge from the coronas virus and on humanitarian assistance necessitated by the damage caused by recent heavy rains.
EU Ambassadors Residents in Pretoria participated in the dialogue.
The annual Lesotho-EU Political Dialogue as provided within Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement facilitates and strengthens cooperation within the international fora, promotes and sustains a system of effective multilateralism.
Source: LENA 20/04/2021