Lesotho's foreign minister says the government does not take "lightly" the US president's comments that the country is unknown

Lesotho's foreign minister, Lejone Mpotjoane, says the country's government is shocked and offended by US President Donald Trump's recent remarks that "nobody has ever heard of" the southern African nation.

Mpotjoane told several news outlets on Wednesday that it is "quite insulting" and "disappointing" for Trump to speak like that about a country where the US has a permanent mission.

"I'm really shocked that my country can be referred to like that by the head of state," he said, according to Reuters.

"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," the minister added.

In a separate interview with AFP, Mpotjoane said Lesotho will send an official protest letter to Washington. "We are not taking this matter lightly," he declared.

Trump made reference to Lesotho in a 100-minute address to the US Congress on Tuesday in which he listed the foreign spending cuts he has made to combat what he called "appalling waste." 

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"Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of," Trump said, sparking laughter from lawmakers.

When Trump took office in January, he suspended most US foreign aid for 90 days to assess whether the projects aligned with his administration's "America first" goals. Last week, Washington announced that it was terminating 90% of US Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. Trump and his newly appointed government efficiency czar, Elon Musk, have repeatedly accused USAID of misappropriating taxpayer money and rampant corruption.

Lesotho, a small mountainous African kingdom of about 2 million people, has received American assistance for several years through USAID. According to US government data, last year, it received more than $44 million in aid for health projects, including the provision of life-saving treatment for HIV/AIDS patients.

On Wednesday, Lesotho's foreign minister told several media outlets, including the BBC and Reuters, that it is Washington's "prerogative to cut aid if they want to." Mpotjoane also reportedly denied knowledge of the $8 million in LGBTQ funding that Trump mentioned in his speech.