The Governments of Maldives and Japan have signed an Exchange of Notes to provide a grant aid of 194 million Japanese Yen (approximately USD 1.3 million) to support the continuation of Japanese government scholarships for Maldivian students in the 2025 fiscal year.

This grant is offered under Japan’s Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) program.

On Tuesday, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheryna Abdul Samad and Japanese Ambassador to the Maldives Ishigami Rumiko signed the Exchange of Notes at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ceremony was also attended by Minister of State for Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development Dr Abdul Raheem Hasan, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Civil Service Commission, the Embassy of Japan, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

This year, the grant will support six fully-funded scholarships for Maldivian students, continuing a project initiated by the Japanese government in August 2020 aimed at strengthening human resource development in the Maldives. Scholarship recipients will be able to pursue master’s degrees at leading universities across Japan.

The scholarship program is designed to develop skilled and capable youth who can actively contribute to shaping and implementing social and economic development policies, playing a vital role in the nation’s progress. The Japanese government provided similar support through this program last year as well.