’Marafaele Mohloboli
FOREIGN Affairs and International Relations Minister, ‘Matšepo Molise-Ramakoae, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by a private university in India.
In a statement, GD Goenka University said the award was in recognition of Molise-Ramakoae’s “immense contribution to the public service in Lesotho and her distinguished career spanning over 30 years”.
Ms Molise-Ramakoae travelled to India to receive the award over the weekend. Thereafter she met her Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, to discuss bilateral issues.
Speaking during the conferment of the award, the registrar of GD Goenka University, Dhirendra Singh Parihar, described Ms Molise-Ramakoae as a “generous, benevolent and hardworking Lesotho woman who beats the odds in a patriarchal society”.
“She continues to relentlessly assist young girls and women to overcome their problems,” Dr Parihar added.
Ms Molise-Ramakoae expressed her delight over the honour.
“I’m delighted and extremely humbled to accept this great honour not only for myself, my family and my people, but also for young people all over the world, especially girls who are raised in circumstances of scarcity,” Ms Molise-Ramakoae.
According to a Lesotho’s Foreign Affairs Mission in India statement, Minister Jaishankar subsequently hosted Molise-Ramakoae and the two discussed issues of mutual interest, mainly centred on India’s financial assistance to Lesotho.
They discussed projects funded by the Indian government and the strengthening of vocational schools in Lesotho. India has in the past donated information technology equipment to institutions of higher learning in Lesotho.
Ms Molise-Ramakoae also attended the India-Lesotho Business Conference and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding, paving way for the establishment of the India-Lesotho Trade Council. The organisation seeks to strengthen business partnerships and increase trade between the two countries.
The envisaged areas of economic cooperation include agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, information technology, infrastructure development and mining.
Seminars and workshops for educating and strengthening small and medium size enterprises would soon be held in Lesotho to help its economy grow. A delegation of investors from India is expected in the country between July and early August 2022 to further explore areas of co-operation, the Lesotho Mission statement notes.
