The Japanese government has decided to provide gratuitous aid in the amount of JPY 305 million (approximately USD 2.9 million) under the Human Resource Development Scholarship Program (JDS) for the 2020 Japanese fiscal year, the Japanese embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic said, Trend reports citing Kabar.
A signing of exchange notes for this program between Japanese Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Maeda Shigeki and Minister of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic Baktygul Jeenbaeva took place today in Bishkek.
“The JDS program has been implementing in Kyrgyzstan since 2006 within the framework of gratuitous assistance in order to support the government of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of training and development of bilateral relations between Japan and Kyrgyzstan,” the report said.
Within the framework of the project, 18 civil servants were selected for obtaining a master's degree in Japan and 2 employees for a doctoral degree, however, due to the spread of a new type of coronavirus infection around the world, the departure of this group to Japan will be delayed.
“In total, during the period of the program, 209 state and municipal employees were sent to study in Japan in selected areas to obtain a master's degree and 1 employee to receive a doctoral degree, of which 176 fellows have already returned to Kyrgyzstan, having successfully defended their dissertations. At this time they occupy leading positions in a number of ministries and departments of the republic,” the embassy said.
The ministry added that the Japanese government expects that JDS fellows will acquire professional knowledge and improve their qualifications during their studies, establish contacts and exchange experiences with participants from other countries, and then apply the acquired knowledge and skills in solving socio-economic problems, and thus, will contribute to the development of the country and increase the well-being of the population of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In addition, during the event, grant agreements were signed between the Permanent Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the Kyrgyz Republic, Nemoto Naoyuki, and Minister of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, Baktygul Jeenbaeva.