Pakistan and Japan Thursday signed a grant agreement amounting to JPY 322 million for "Human Resource Development Scholarships" for the academic year 2020. Secretary Economic Affairs Division Noor Ahmed and Minister/ Deputy Chief of Mission (Charge d' Affairs), Embassy of Japan Yusuke Shindo signed the grant agreement between the government of Pakistan and the government of Japan amounting to JPY 322 million for "Human Resource Development Scholarships" for the academic year 2020.
This programme was introduced first time in Pakistan in 2018. The main objective of JDS is to strengthen the administrative capacities of government of Pakistan by providing the opportunity to obtain the master and doctor of philosophy degrees to the capable government officers who are involved in formulation and implementation of social and economic development of Pakistan.
The JDS programme is designed to accept four batches of fellow students to Japan in consecutive four years. First batch consisting of 18 civil servants is going to leave Pakistan for Japan in August 2019. The target fields of JDS are public administration and finance, energy policy and implementation, industrial promotion, investment climate and trade, agriculture, water resource and rural development, disaster management capacity.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Muhammad Hammad Azhar witnessed the grant agreement signing ceremony.
Under the programme, the government of Japan will offer scholarships for master and doctoral degrees to the young capable government officials who are expected to play leadership roles in contributing to the socio-economic development of the country. It also aims to build a human resource network and eventually strengthen the bilateral relationship between both the countries.
The federal minister for economic affairs said that this opportunity will strengthen the government's administrative capacities in the country. All developing countries confront the challenge of designing coherent policies that can simultaneously improve service delivery, accelerate economic growth, reduce poverty and inequality and meet environmental challenges.
To successfully achieve these objectives, the countries need both strong analytical capacities to assess policy options and sound institutional arrangements for policy formulation and its effective implementation. The minister also expressed gratitude for Japan's long-term economic partnership with Pakistan and reiterated the country's (Pakistan) commitment for further strengthening the bilateral relationships.
The government of Japan has been one of the largest development partners of Pakistan for the last six decades. Japan's economic cooperation has played a vital role in the development of socioeconomic sectors with main focus on human uplift, poverty reduction and capacity building of institutions. Pakistan values Japan's assistance in the fields of education, health, energy, environment, disaster management and counterterrorism.
Yusuke Shindo said: "We have started this project since last year because we believe human resource development, especially of young civil servants, is key to the development of Pakistan. They are expected to become future leaders of this country. Japan will continue to contribute for the prosperous future of Pakistan. We will also continue to support the education sector in Pakistan, which we believe, is the key sector in Pakistan's development."
Shigeki Furuta said, "This programme would make a significant contribution towards human resource development in Pakistan. JDS fellows will gain knowledge, which will be useful for policy planning and implementation. These fellows will be expected to take an important leading role in the government to its capacity, which enables them to achieve its goals and objectives. The effectiveness of the government will directly affect the development of Pakistan and welfare of the people. Moreover, the project aims to strengthen the partnership between both the countries."