The United States of America and the government of Lesotho signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) designed to enhance bilateral border security and criminal justice programs.
According to a press release from US embassy, the MOC allows the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to facilitate interdepartmental cooperation to assist and inform criminal investigation.
When signing the MOC, the Minister of Police, Mr. Lepota Sekola lauded the longstanding relationship and close cooperation between the two nations as the impetus for the development of the MOC agreement.
On the other hand, the US Ambassador to Lesotho, Ms. Rebecca Gonzales noted that FBI-LMPS partnership builds on the formidable relationship that the US and Lesotho have maintained for more than five decades.
She expressed hope that the MOC will go a long way in enhancing the ability of the LMPS to address crime, especially at a time when Lesotho continues to face a significantly alarming rate of murder cases.
Meanwhile, FBI is planning three trainings in the coming months to support the cooperation outlined in MOC such as basics of finger printing, facial comparison and identification training as well as advanced comparison for fingerprint examiners.
In addition, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has scheduled an upcoming training on crime scene forensics while the Diplomatic Security Service also has plans for law enforcement training to increase anti-trafficking-in-persons efforts across the Southern Africa region.
Present at the signing ceremony were amongst others FBI Assistant Director of Criminal Justice Information Services Division, FBI Legal Attaché, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Police and the Commissioner of Police.
 
Source: LENA 08/11/2021