His Majesty King Letsie III says he acknowledges the support Lesotho received from Japan over the years.

This he said when accepting letters of credence from the Ambassador of Japan to Lesotho, Mr. Ushio Shigeru at the Royal Palace in Maseru on Thursday.

His Majesty said Japan provided substantial support to Lesotho in climate change, food security, education and health amongst others.

He said in education, a big number of Basotho receive education in well-constructed classrooms through the support of Japan, adding that the latter contributed to the fight against COVID-19 through the provision of medical equipment which enabled Lesotho health workers to boldly fight the pandemic.

He said the Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) is a commendable framework under which Lesotho and underdeveloped African countries have realized their developmental aspirations.

He, therefore, assured the Ambassador of the government and Basotho’s support during his tenure of office.

Presenting his letters of credence, Mr. Shigeru said the diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were established in 1971 saw bonds of cooperation in the areas of education, agriculture, climate change and health amongst others.

He, therefore, pledged to strengthen further bilateral relations between the two countries during his tenure of office.

On the other hand, His Majesty also accepted letters of credence from the Ambassador of Austria to Lesotho, Ms. Romana Konigsbrun. When accepting the credentials, His Majesty said his visit to Austria in 2013 was fruitful and cemented bonds of friendship between the two countries.

He noted that during this visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed and served as a framework through which both countries formed bonds of cooperation in the areas of water, renewable energy and politics amongst others.

He also noted with gratitude and appreciation for Lesotho being one of the six Southern African Development Community (SADC) benefiting from Austria’s projects such as renewable energy, technical support as well as information sharing.

He, therefore, expressed hope that during her tenure of office, the Ambassador would work hard to deepen strong bonds of cooperation between the two countries.

Presenting her letters of credence, Ms. Konigsbrun said Lesotho as a member of SADC, enjoys support from Austria in different areas such as renewable energy amongst others.

She promised to further strengthen bonds of cooperation between the two countries during her tenure of office.

Meanwhile, both Ambassadors will pay a Courtesy call to the Prime Minister Mr. Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane.

Source: LENA 15/06/2023