First of all, please allow me to pay my respects to:

His Majesty King Letsie III,

The Right Honorable Prime Minister Matekane,

Honorable President of the Senate,

Honorable Speaker of the National Assembly,

His Lordship the Chief Justice,

Honorable Deputy Prime Minister,

Honorable Cabinet Ministers, especially

Honorable Minister of Health,

Excellency UNAIDS Multi Country Director,

Esteemed government officials,

Distinguished guests,

Friends from Media Houses,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I’m very pleased to attend the the China-Lesotho Triple Threat Elimination Project Launch today.

Since my arrival in Lesotho two years ago, I have had the privilege of attending several groundbreaking and handing-over ceremonies for China-Lesotho bilateral projects. Today is my first time attending the launch of trilateral cooperation project, which is also the forth Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund project in Lesotho. The first two are both food aid projects implemented by WFP in 2018 and 2020 respectively. And the third one is the Project of Providing Health Assistance to Lesotho for COVID-19 Pandemic Response from 2021 to 2024. These projects demonstrate that China is an active advocate and a faithful practitioner of the true spirit of multilateralism. In total, these projects have benefited nearly 400 thousand Basotho. As for this project, the beneficiaries are mainly girls and young women who remain among the most vulnerable groups in fighting against HIV/AIDS.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Every girl and woman has the right to access quality health services and to live a life free from discrimination and violence. Women’s rights is a very important component of human rights. At the opening ceremony of the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, China released the full text of the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2026-2030), demonstrating its firm commitment to improving people's well-being and injecting valuable certainty and positive energy into global human rights governance at a time of turbulence and transformation. China advocates for mobilizing development resources and improving people's livelihoods through international cooperation, including high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China also supports stronger equal protection for women, children, seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. This project is another vivid example of mobilizing development resources of international organizations to support equal protection for women and improve people's livelihoods in Lesotho.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In 2024, Lesotho reached the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, which is a major milestone in the HIV response. Congratulations! However, while encouraged by this great development, further efforts are still needed in Mokhotlong to achieve the national strategic plans in health sector. That’s why the Fund chose to invest in girls and young women in the district of Mokhotlong. I sincerely hope that, with our joint efforts, Lesotho will continue to make meaningful progress in fighting against HIV/AIDS and move closer to the goal of an AIDS-free Lesotho.

Promoting people-centered development and leaving no one behind are exactly the principles of the Global Development Initiative (GDI). Five years ago, President Xi Jinping put forward the GDI, aiming to promote addressing the most urgent problems and challenges in development faced by the world, especially developing countries. Over the past five years, under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and with the joint effort of various parties, fruitful outcomes have been made in implementing the GDI. The GDI has turned from a Chinese proposal into a global consensus, with people-centered development philosophy enjoying increasing popularity. The GDI has played a greater role in driving global development by real actions. Under the framework of the initiative, more than US$23 billion have been mobilized, and more than 2,000 cooperation projects have been carried out. In particular, practical cooperation under the framework of the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund has yielded fruitful outcomes in 70 plus countries, benefiting more than 40 million people. This project is one of the fruitful outcomes of GDI and more achievements are yet to come. We look forward to working with Lesotho to share development opportunities, explore cooperation on development, facilitate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Health sector has been one of the areas where China and Lesotho have conducted cooperation with fruitful outcomes for decades. Over the years, the Chinese government has contributed to several healthcare projects, including the construction of the Maseru District Hospital and dispatching nearly 200 Chinese doctors and medical specialists. From September 27 to 30, the medical team conducted a medical outreach in Mokhotlong, providing services to a total of 300 people from the local community. They have taken concrete actions to uphold the spirit of Chinese medical teams, which is “fearlessness of hardship, willingness to sacrifice, helpfulness to patients, boundlessness of love”. They have won the support of Basotho people and enhanced China-Lesotho friendship. China-Lesotho cooperation in health sector is a vivid example of how China upholds the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests with Africa, and how China and Africa jointly build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

Thank you!