PRESS RELEASE

An interagency dialogue with the Government on its development and growth agenda witnessed participation at the highest level from the Government and the UN. In a first ever such dialogue five capital cities 5 cities – Geneva, Vienna, Addis Ababa, Pretoria and Maseru were linked via satellite to facilitate participation of agencies of the Chief Executives Board’s (CEB) cluster (ITC, UNIDO, WTO, UNCTAD)  on trade and productive capacities.

 The UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie set the tone of the dialogue by indicating UN’s endeavor to align its programmes and activities with the country’s aspirations and the Government’s National Development Framework. In this context, the revised United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), which is clustered into four broad outcome areas in alignment with the Government’s priorities for development, was also presented.

Dr. Timothy T. Thahane, the Honourable Minister of Finance & Development Planning, shared his Government’s vision on Development strategies and identified a number of priority areas in which UN support or intervention is most needed to achieve desired outcomes. The priority sectors include Education, Health, Trade and Infrastructure development, and establishment of viable microfinance institutions for development of the SMMEs.

Mr. Popane Lebesa, the Honourable Minister of Trade, Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing stressed on enhancing Lesotho’s capacity to access international and regional markets and called for a robust industrial policy which would underpin the country’s ability to trade.

Mr. Petko Draganove, Deputy Secretary General UNCTAD, affirmed the commitment of the CEB cluster to design and implement an integrated trade and productive capacity assistance strategy in Lesotho which acknowledges the central role of trade as an engine for pro-poor economic growth and human development.

 Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto, Deputy Director General, UNIDO, assured the government and other development partners of UNIDO’s continued support to trade and productive capacity development for the benefit of the people of Lesotho.  The Deputy Executive Director of ITC and the representative of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reiterated the support of their respective organizations to the development of a robust trade strategy to support programs in Lesotho.

The UN endeavor of Delivering as One (DaO) and the Government Receiving as One, was identified as the best vehicle to effectively impact on development. The dialogue marks a beginning of constructive engagement between the UN and the Government to make for a more harmonized and focused approach to development.