THE United States of America (USA) and the Government of Lesotho have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) designed to enhance bilateral border security and criminal justice programme.

According to a press release from US embassy in Maseru, the MOC allows the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to facilitate interdepartmental cooperation to assist and inform criminal investigations.
Upon the signature of the cooperation on Monday, Lepota Sekola, the Minister of Police, lauded the longstanding relationship and close collaboration between the two countries as the impetus for the development of the MOC agreement.
For her part, Rebecca Gonzales, the US ambassador to Lesotho said the FBI-LMPS partnership builds on the formidable relationship that the US and Lesotho have maintained for more than five decades.
The ambassador was hopeful that the MOC would go a long way towards enhancing the ability of the LMPS to address crime, especially at a time when Lesotho faces a significantly alarming rate of murder cases.
Meanwhile, the FBI is planning three trainings in the coming months to support the cooperation outlined in MOC such as basics in finger printing, facial comparison and identification training as well as advanced comparison for fingerprint examiners.