Small industries cooperation agreement signed between Lesotho and India 

A memorandum of understanding was on January 22 signed between the governments of Lesotho and India for cooperation in the field of small industries between Lesotho and India.

The small industries cooperation agreement was signed by the Indian High Commissioner to Lesotho, Mr. Shiv Shankar Mukherjee on behalf of the National Small Industrial Sector of India and the Chief Executive Officer of the Basotho Enterprises Development Corporation (BEDCO), Mr. Phallang Mokhesi.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, the Minister of Trade Mr. Mpho Malie explained that the agreement was a direct result of the Prime Minister's visit to India in July last year. The signing is the first initiative between the two countries to actually implement an agreement reached during that visit to enhance the development of small industries in Lesotho.

The National Small Industrial Sector of India would under this agreement work with small and medium enterprises under BEDCO, to assist in creating a suitable institutional basis for their development  in Lesotho. This will be implemented through transfer of technology including training in the manufacture of such products as toilet paper, exercises, paper recycling, a corrugated boxes plant as well as cotton plants which were already being made in India.

The agreement will further facilitate enterprise to enterprise contact between the two countries with the view to promote industrial relations, Mr. Malie said.

The BEDCO Chief Executive Officer acknowledged that this agreement will go a long way in addressing problems that BEDCO faces, singling out the most prominent as being lack of expertise among Basotho's small businesses.

Meanwhile, negotiations on free trade between Lesotho and India are set to follow the signing of the agreement, while many more agreements are yet to be signed under the Ministries of Trade, Agriculture and Health of the two countries.




21 January 2004