HR Development Scholarship Programme: Japan inks grant agreement worth JPY326m

ISLAMABAD: The governments of Pakistan and Japan have signed a grant agreement worth JPY 326 million ($2.1 million) to bolster the Human Resource Development Scholarship Programme (JDS) 2024.

Mitsuhiro Wada, ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, and Dr Kazim Niaz, secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, signed the Exchange of Notes (E/N) on this programme at a ceremony here on Thursday.

The Grant Agreement (G/A) for the aforementioned programme was also signed between Saeed Ashraf Siddiqi, joint secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Miyata Naoaki, chief representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office.

JDS is designed to support the social and economic development of the country by providing government officials with the opportunity to obtain Master’s or Doctoral degree in Japan with aims at enhancing their knowledge in public administration and strengthening relationship between Japan and Pakistan.

The participants of JDS programme engaging in the formulation and implementation of such policies will be enrolled at the partner universities in Japan and are expected to acquire further knowledge in their field while learning about the Japanese culture and traditions.

Japan, through JICA, has extended this generous grant to Pakistan, marking the 7th installment of the JDS project since its inception in 2018. This year, the grant will provide 17 scholarships for Master’s programmes and one for a PhD/Doctorate programme at prestigious universities in Japan for young Federal Civil Service and Ex-Cadre officers of Pakistan.

Since 2018, six batches, each comprising around 18 participants, have benefited from the JDS scholarships. This initiative has significantly enhanced the capacity and performance of young officers who play a crucial role in the socio-economic development of Pakistan. Additionally, Japan frequently invites Pakistani government officials to participate in various short-term training courses in Japan.

Dr Niaz expressed profound gratitude to the Government and people of Japan for their unwavering support, ensuring all necessary facilitation for furthering meaningful cooperation between the two nations.

Wada Mitsuhiro, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Pakistan and Naoaki Miyata, JICA chief assured of their commitment to work closely with the government of Pakistan to further strengthen the friendly ties and bilateral cooperation.

Wada highlighted that “This project supports ‘People First’, the first pillar of the Pakistan Vision 2025, which places developing social and human capital at the centre of sustainable development in the country. The Government of Japan fully understands the importance of social and human capital development in public administration that can effectively address the multi-dimensional development challenges in this country.”

Miyata while speaking at the event said, “Since the very beginning of Japan ODA, which is 70th anniversary in this year, training programme has been delivered and from Pakistan, around 7,000 officials participated to the training. We desire that all JDS fellows together with those ex-trainees contribute to the development of Pakistan and improve the relationship between Pakistan and Japan into the future.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024