KATHMANDU, JULY 9

The Government of Japan has extended grant assistance of up to ¥572 million (approximately Rs 541 million) to the Government of Nepal for the implementation of the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS).

An agreement to this effect was signed on Tuesday between MAEDA Toru, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, and Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, Secretary at Nepal's Ministry of Finance, according to the press release issued by the Japan Embassy in Kathmandu.

The JDS project provides scholarships to young government officials in Nepal to pursue two-year master's degrees and three-year doctoral courses at renowned Japanese universities. Since the program's launch, 187 Nepali civil servants have benefited from the initiative. This year, an additional 22 officials who passed the competitive selection process will begin their studies in Japan starting August, it further noted.

The Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu said that the JDS alumni have been contributing to Nepal's socio-economic development by taking up leadership roles within the government and strengthening bilateral cooperation between Nepal and Japan.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ambassador Maeda expressed satisfaction with the ongoing success of the JDS in Nepal. 'JDS in Nepal has been quite successful both in terms of strengthening capacity of government officials and expanding cooperation between Japan and Nepal.' Ambassador also expressed his hope that the grant assistance signed today continue to contribute to the development of Nepal.