Daily Times

The government of Japan on Thursday announced a grant aid of around 322 million Japanese yen ($3 million) under the Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) Programme in Pakistan.

Notes to this effect were signed and exchanged between Yusuke Shindo, Charge d’ Affaires, Embassy of Japan in Pakistan and Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Noor Ahmed. A Grant Agreement on the details of implementation of the project for fiscal year 2019 was signed and exchanged between Shigeki Furuta, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Adil Akbar Khan, Joint Secretary, EAD.

This programme was introduced first time to 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 degree 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 eighteen 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.

Yusuke Shindo, Charge d’ Affaires, said: “We have started this project since last year because we believe human resource development, especially that 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 enable 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”.