THE Young Basotho Professionals Forum held its maiden Annual General Meeting and Strategic Planning Workshop on the 29th and 30th of June 2026.
The event gathered emerging professionals, practising professionals, young entrepreneurs, graduands and graduates about to enter the workforce in Lesotho’s ailing job market, exploring themes that included, inter alia, leadership, national development (youth unemployment, job creation), international collaboration, national cohesion, national psyche, philosophy and peace.
The Young Basotho Professionals Forum (YBPF) workshop also reflected on issues of national identity and patriotism, as well as high mettle and consciousness in socio-politico-economic affairs, both geopolitically and nationally. The workshop aimed to hone a generation of leaders and promote an active citizenry that values dialogue, unity, innovation and accountable governance, in order to achieve a peaceful society in which Lesotho is at peace with itself, its neighbours and the international community.
Among the facilitators, mentors and contributors of the workshop were Associate Professor Makhulu Makumane, Dr Khosi Mahlakeng and Thabo Qhesi, whose contributions spanned a plethora of topics and themes meant to equip delegates with solution-development tools and to inculcate forgotten virtues and values that will be instrumental to the work of the forum as a think tank and to the delegates’ personal development.
As the Bible will have it, that “all things work together for good”, fate also had it that, on the eve of the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the officiation of the main ceremonies comprised His Excellency Yang Xiaokun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Lesotho, as the main guest speaker, who, in his opening, outlined that his remarks contained three themes encapsulating the following topics: 1. The Global Civilization Initiative; 2. Full Zero-Tariff Treatment for All African Diplomatic Partners; and 3. The White Paper on Equitable Global Governance and the Global Governance Initiative.
In consolidation of these three themes, His Excellency Yang Xiaokun said:
“What I shared with you today ultimately addresses three fundamental questions: how can civilizations coexist peacefully; how can development opportunities be shared more fairly; and how can global governance become more just and equitable?
China’s answer is clear: through dialogue rather than confrontation, through cooperation rather than exclusion, and through shared development rather than zero-sum competition.
The Global Civilization Initiative promotes mutual respect and mutual learning among peoples. China’s expanded opening-up, including full zero-tariff treatment for African partners, creates new opportunities for common development. The Global Governance Initiative and the recently released white paper contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to building a more just and equitable international order.
As an important member of the Global South and a longstanding supporter of multilateralism, Lesotho has an important role to play in promoting peace, development and global governance reform. We highly value the important role that our think tanks and academic institutions play in fostering mutual understanding, generating policy ideas and strengthening international cooperation.
I sincerely hope that the YBPF will continue to leverage its intellectual strengths to deepen research and dialogue on issues such as exchanges among civilizations, South-South cooperation and global governance reform, and contribute more wisdom and insights to strengthen the China-Lesotho strategic partnership and build a more peaceful, prosperous and equitable world.
China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with think tanks, universities and academic institutions in Lesotho. We welcome more scholars, researchers and young intellectuals from Lesotho to engage in exchanges with China and to jointly explore solutions to the common challenges facing humanity.”
In this powerful keynote speech, His Excellency Ambassador Yang Xiaokun also mentioned two noteworthy dates to conjure with. The first is 1 July 2026, the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) 105th anniversary. He invited attendees to reflect on the monumental transformation since the CPC’s establishment in 1921. For 105 years the CPC has led the Chinese people and has achieved great feats across every facet of human endeavour, including balanced economic development, improved living standards, poverty eradication, employment generation, cutting-edge technological advancements and ecological conservation. These achievements underpin the ideological pragmatism of the CPC’s socialism with Chinese characteristics.
On the second noteworthy date, Ambassador Yang spoke to the issue of the General Assembly resolution A/RES/78/286, adopted to declare 10 June as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. He described the date and resolution as a significant step towards the implementation of the GCI.
The President of the Young Basotho Professionals Forum, Mr Lesolle Phalatsi, in his opening remarks, outlined the vision and mission of the organisation: that its mandate and core value offering is to become Lesotho’s most robust, people-centred and research-based think tank, one that focuses on mentoring and honing the youth to become active, conscious and conscientious citizens who are self-reliant and independent, while fostering the same within Lesotho to bring about economic growth, improved living standards, poverty eradication, employment generation, peace and harmony.
The AGM was also graced by the presence of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Honourable Ts’eliso Mokhosi. Minister Mokhosi noted that the coming into being of the YBPF is a significant step and a blessing, more especially as the nation is seized with a youth employment crisis, culminating in the recent multitudes of Basotho crossing the border back home, fearing for their lives in South Africa. He strongly emphasised that the Young Basotho Professionals Forum is indeed the answer to the economic problems faced by Lesotho, not only unemployment but also underemployment. The Honourable Minister encouraged the YBPF to form strategic partnerships and cooperation, and humbly exhorted the Chinese diplomats and Chinese communities in Lesotho to find possibilities and areas of cooperation in order to sharpen the human capital and capacity of the YBPF as an organisation.
The ensuing panel discussion on the Global Civilization Initiative and Global Development Initiative, as President Xi’s thoughts, was conducted in a robust yet warm atmosphere, in which delegates, experts and attendees interacted in dissecting the thoughts.
To wrap up the proceedings, the meeting received a comprehensive and informative presentation on Full Zero-Tariff Treatment for All African Diplomatic Partners (53 African nations).
This article was contributed by the Young Basotho Professionals Forum.
