Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili yesterday hailed the forthcoming Africa-China summit as a highly important and practical mechanism for high-level political dialogue between Chinese and African leaders.

Mosisili made the remarks in a written interview with Xinhua on the eve of his visit to China for the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) slated for Nov. 4-5.

A total of 48 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China are to participate in the summit, which will focus on "friendship, peace, cooperation and development."

"Lesotho is convinced that the Africa-China Cooperation Forum is highly important as a practical mechanism for regular and high-level political dialogue and consultations on cooperation in social, economic, cultural, scientific, technological, and trade and investment areas," he said.

"Lesotho shall continue to support this mechanism as it is a basis for coordination of positions and deepened cooperation between China and Africa," said the 61-year-old prime minister of the mountain kingdom on the African continent.

The FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and to facilitate common development.

Since the launch of the FOCAC in 2000, two ministerial conferences have been held in Beijing and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mosisili said the summit would not only bring African and Chinese leaders together to map and coordinate future strategies for economic, political and cultural development for the benefit of their people, but also give opportunity to pronounce their commitment to the maintenance of world peace and stability.

The Lesotho prime minister will fly to Beijing on Thursday. This is his third visit to China since he was elected to the office on May 29, 1998.

He said he attached great importance to the relations with China and that's why he was making his second trip to China within a year.

It was now over 50 years since Africa and the People's Republic of China established friendly relations, Mosisili said.

From as early as in the 1950s, the Chinese people had selflessly committed themselves to assisting their African brothers in the struggle for independence, he acknowledged.

"Lesotho was no exception in this exercise. It is during this time that many of Lesotho's youth received education from the People's Republic of China to equip them for the development programs in their country," he added.

The prime minister said that the return of democratic rule in Lesotho in 1993 opened a new phase in the relations between Lesotho and China.

This was further strengthened by the state visit of King Letsie III to China in 1999 and Mosisili's official visit to China in 2001.

Following these important visits, relations between Lesotho and China developed significantly, he said.

"The two countries now maintain high level exchange visits which help to coordinate the bilateral cooperation between the two. The relations have to date developed to a high level so much, that they may be characterized as special."

While describing the bilateral relations as very dynamic, friendly and fruitful, he said, "bilateral cooperation between Lesotho and China had yielded very fruitful results in many fields of our national development program. These include human resources development, infrastructure, health, culture, military and technology."

Nevertheless, he noted, it is very important to understand that China's involvement in Africa is completely different to the involvement of Western countries in Africa.

"These differences stand clear when one compares the purposes and methods of involvement. As indicated earlier, China has actually helped Africa politically, materially and morally during the struggle for independence; China is committed to the principle of equality of all nations and finally Chinese assistance has no ties attached to it, which is not the case with the West," he said.

The prime minister attributed the dynamic friendly relations to common ground between the two countries in maintaining peace and economic development.

He said Lesotho and China shared common aspirations for economic development, peace and stability.

"Both are convinced that peace and stability are prerequisites for sustainable development. Both sides are fully committed to the principle of equality," said the prime minister.

"It is as a result of these factors that the two countries find it easy to work together and coordinate their programs in the interests of the betterment of their peoples as well as maintenance of world peace," he said.

"Lesotho recognizes with great satisfaction the special relationship between China and the developing countries, Africa in particular. Lesotho is also aware that China consistently pursues its principle of world peace and common development (which is) entrenched in China's foreign policy," Mosisili noted.