Thank you, Master of the Ceremony!

May I start by paying my respect to His Majesty King Letsie III and the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Motsoahae Thomas Thabane and all other protocols observed.

Hon. Mr. Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations,

Mr. Imaldelin Osman Salih, Representative and Country Director of the World Food Programme(WFP),

Mr. Tebello J. Metsing, Principal Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Other Senior Government Officials,

Officials from the World Food Program,

Friends from the news media,

Ladies and gentlemen:

Good Afternoon everyone!

In response to the Appeal for Emergent Humanitarian Assistance by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Thabane and the Government of Lesotho last September, because of the food shortage in 2011/2012 Cropping Season caused by the adverse weather conditions and climate change, the Government of the People's Republic of China took the lead in making a decision in the same month to donate a batch of grain aid to the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho through the World Food Programme. Today, it gives me great pleasure and honour to hand over, on behalf of the Chinese Government, the above mentioned grain aid to Lesotho Government through the WFP Office in Lesotho. This is the fourth grain aid donation from China in recent years, and the second one since I assumed the office as Chinese Ambassador to the Mountain Kingdom in 2011. This fully demonstrates that the Chinese Government attaches great importance to the good cooperative relations with Lesotho, and again is a vivid embodiment of the goodwill and friendship of the Chinese Government and people for the Lesotho Government and people, and also an example of good cooperation and partnership between China and the International Organization in strengthening food security in African Countries. Here I wish to thank Director Salih and his team for their hard work and wonderful arrangement without which this could not be a success, and I also wish to thank Hon. Minister Tsekoa for his presence to receive this donation on behalf of the Lesotho Government.

China and Lesotho have enjoyed friendly and cooperative bilateral relations over the years. As a true and reliable friend of Lesotho, China always supports the endeavor of the Lesotho Government in dealing with the challenges of food security and the reduction of poverty. I believe that this batch of food donation would help those vulnerable and needy Basotho, especially children reduce their pains and sufferings, overcome their temporary difficulties and contribute to the strengthening of food security in Lesotho.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nowadays, Climate change has become immediate and potential threat to the human society. The world community is facing more difficulties and challenges in maintaining food security. You can't have food security in only one country. It is a regional and global problem. It needs concerted efforts by and cooperation among all countries in the world.

We have a populous saying in China that food is the first priority for the human being and with grains in hands, you will have no worry in heart. With over 1.3 billion people to feed, China always considers self-sufficiency the foundation of its food security strategy. Top priority has been given to promoting agriculture, with more policy and financial support from both central and local governments. Many effective measures have been taken, like abolishing agricultural taxes which had been practiced for hundreds and thousands of years in China, setting up systems for agriculture subsidies, guaranteeing the minimum price for agricultural produces, etc. which have greatly promoted the development of agriculture in China. China has made tremendous achievements in poverty reduction and meeting the basic food needs of its poor population. It maintained a grain self-sufficiency rate above 95% in recent years. China transitioned from a recipient of WFP assistance at the end of 2005 into a donor of WFP, contributing greatly to global food security.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the year of 2013, China will continue to work with the government and people of Lesotho, to further develop our friendly relations and cooperation. While having currently more than a dozen ongoing China-Aid projects in Lesotho in various fields, we have been discussing with relevant Ministries of Lesotho as how we could tailor new projects to the need of Lesotho under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). As the saying goes: to give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, and to teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. We are working hard to explore new measures and new fields to help enhance the self-development capacity of Lesotho and increase the well-being of the Basotho people through technological transfer, training and education cooperation. I am happy to notice that in the 2013/2014 National budget Report, Lesotho Government has put more emphasis on agricultural development and allocate more financial resources on it.

China will, as always, continue to work with Lesotho to tackle difficulties, strengthen cooperation and realize common development.

Thank you!