The Japanese government has provided a grant worth 117 million Japanese Yen which is approximately USD 865,000, to the government of Maldives.

A ceremony was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, where the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel and the Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives, Takeuchi Midori signed the Exchange of Notes relating to the grant aid.

The grant aid was provided for the continuation of scholarships opportunities to be offered by the government of Japan for the fiscal year 2023, under the Japanese Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS).

The grant of USD 865,000 will provide six more scholarships once more in 2022, through the project implemented in August of 2020 by the Japanese government in a bid to further promote the human resource development in Maldives.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Civil Service Commission as well as officials from the Embassy of Japan  and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) were in attendance at the ceremony.

Towards the end of May, the government of Japan also provided a grant aid of 650 million Japanese Yen which is approximately USD 5.1 million, to the Maldivian government, in a bid to promote the economic and social development of the island nation.

State Minister Khaleel had highlighted the generosity of the government of Japan and shed light on the close and friendly relations that exist between the two countries. He went on to state that such projects reflect Japan’s constant role as one of the key partners in the island nation’s development and expressed appreciation and stated that the Maldives will always cherish the historic bonds of friendship between our two countries.