South Africa and Lesotho have begun working on a cross-border cannabis strategy that could form the basis of future trade agreements. This follows a week-long study mission by the Lesotho Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development to South Africa hosted by this country’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.

Engineering News reported on 3 June 2025, that the purpose of the Lesotho delegation’s trip was to investigate “regulatory frameworks for indigenous plants and mechanisms to leverage trade agreements, including the Southern African Development Community-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, as well as to exchange experiences on how best to leverage trade agreements to promote growth and development.”

The trip, the result of a trade MoU signed earlier this year, was far broader in scope than just cannabis – South Africa and Lesotho also agreed to enhance cooperation on standards and on cross-border value chains in identified sectors such as automotive; clothing and textiles; cosmetics and essential oils fruits and vegetables; and leather and meat products.

According to DTIC trade deputy director-general Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter (pictured here), the importance of sharing resilience-building strategies amid the seismic shifts in global trade was timely and could also enhance the buoyancy of the region.

The Department said the MoU offered a good platform to facilitate greater cooperation between the two countries, promote exchange of experiences in a manner that promotes mutually beneficial trade and investment relations.

“We welcome the commitment between our two countries to work together to diversify production and to leverage trade agreements that the Southern Africa Customs Unions is party to, that provide a good platform to access global markets,” said Mlumbi-Peter.

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