A scholarship agreement has been signed between the governments of Maldives and Japan, under the Japanese grant aid “Project for Human Resource Development”.

The signing ceremony for the JDS Grand Agreement between the Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) of the government of Japan on the “Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship” took place at the ministry on Thursday.

Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development Dr. Maryam Mariya signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Maldives.

Motoo Taki, Resident Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the Maldives signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Japan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Mariya stated that the scholarships will not solely focus on training and educating civil servants of the central government.

She said that this is a project to build the future of the island nation.

Mariya noted that these scholarships will generate capable academic staff.

Shedding light on the significance of developing the human resources of a country, Minister Mariya noted that every employee should work on his or her own to move forward.

Noting the continuous assistance the government of Japan has been providing to the education sector of Maldives, the minister expressed gratitude.

The ceremony was joined by Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission Fathimath Shareef and Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives Takeuchi Midori as well.

The projects that come under the “Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship by Japanese Grant Aid” are carried out for one to two years.

The scholarships by JDS aim to develop human resources across the island nation.

JDS has been providing these scholarships since 2020 and presently, several students are enrolled in the program.

This is the fourth round JDS is providing these scholarships.