Japan provides USD one million in aid to the Maldives for human resource development
16 ޖުލައި 2026 | ބުރާސްފަތި 10:50The Japanese government has signed an agreement to provide a grant of 152 million yen to support human resource development in the Maldives. Under this initiative, Maldivian students will be granted opportunities to pursue Master’s degrees at Japanese universities starting in 2026. The primary objective of the program is to build a cohort of capable young professionals equipped to implement the Maldives' socio-economic policies.
A scene from the ceremony held to sign the "Exchange of Notes" between the Government of Maldives and the Government of Japan. | Foreign Ministry
The Government of Maldives and the Government of Japan have officially signed an "Exchange of Notes."
State Minister Sheryna Abdul Samad signed the agreement on behalf of the Maldivian government during a special ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday morning. Ambassador Ishigami Rumiko signed the document on behalf of the Government of Japan.
Under this agreement, the Government of Japan has committed to providing a grant of 152 million Japanese Yen (approximately USD 1,020,134). Furthermore, the Japanese government has also awarded scholarships for the year 2026 under the "Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship" program.
This assistance has been provided by the Government of Japan since 2020.
The Ministry stated that the objective is to develop capable youth who will actively participate in formulating and implementing the Maldives' future social and economic development policies.
Under this assistance program, Maldivian students are granted the opportunity to pursue Master's degrees at top-tier Japanese universities.
To date, a total of 17 students have successfully completed their studies and graduated under this program. Furthermore, nine Maldivian students are currently pursuing higher education at various universities across Japan.
The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Embassy of Japan, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
