Lesotho’s foreign minister Lejone Mpotjoane said on Wednesday, March 5, that he was shocked and felt insulted after Donald Trump claimed in an address to the US Congress that nobody had heard of the southern African nation.
The US president mentioned Lesotho by name while justifying his administration’s move to cut what he called “appalling” foreign spending.
“Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of,” Trump said in his lengthy address.
In response, Lesotho’s foreign minister described Trump’s comments as “quite insulting”, telling the Reuters news agency that he was “really shocked that my country can be referred to like that by the head of state”.
“Lesotho is such a significant and unique country in the whole world. I would be happy to invite the president, as well as the rest of the world to come to Lesotho,” Mpotjoane added.
So, here are 10 facts to know about the country Trump joked is unknown:
1. Lesotho is a constitutional monarch completely surrounded by South Africa.
2. Its capital city is Maseru.
3. Lesotho’s monarch has no legislative or executive powers.
4. Lesotho is the only independent country that lies entirely above 1,000m (3,281ft) in elevation, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
5. Lesotho has the highest ski resort in sub-Saharan Africa. Afriski is situated 3,222m above sea level.
6. People from Lesotho are called Basotho.
7. The southern African country was a British protectorate until 1966 when it gained independence.
8. Lesotho began issuing licences to grow marijuana for medical reasons in 2017.
9. The country is dubbed “the Kingdom in the Sky” due to its scenic natural beauty and high, snow-tipped mountains.
10. Lesotho is a major exporter of jeans to the United States, making jeans for brands such as Levi’s and Wrangler.
The country has been dubbed the “denim capital of Africa”.
