Japan grants US$3m for Lao human resource development

The Japanese government has provided grant aid of US$3 million (317 million JPY) to support ongoing human resource development in Laos.
The funds will be implemented under ‘The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship’. It will award scholarships to young Lao government officials engaged in socio-economic development to study at graduate schools in Japan for advanced learning and research.
A signing ceremony for the exchange of notes for the project was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane on Thursday.

The notes were signed and exchanged by Ambassador of Japan to Laos, Mr Keizo Takewaka and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Thongsavanh Phomvihane, and witnessed by representatives of Lao line ministries.
Mr Takewaka said, “The Japanese government has decided to provide grant aid to implement the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship, and the project will award 22 scholarships to young Lao government officials to study at schools in Japan.”
The education sector is one of the priority policy areas in economic cooperation for Laos under the National Socio-Economic Development Plan. This project will contribute to training the many talented young officials necessary for continuous economic growth and poverty alleviation in Laos.
According to the Japanese Embassy to Laos, under this annual project, more than 370 officials have obtained master or doctoral degrees since 1999 when the programme started.
“This year marks the 65th anniversary of Japan-Laos diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership. Japan, as a strategic partner of Laos, supports the efforts of the Lao government for sustainable development in various sectors including human resource development,” Ambassador Keizo said at the ceremony.
Mr Thongsavanh said, “The Lao government will use Japan’s assistance to benefit human resource development which is vital for socio-economic development in Laos”.
From 2000-2019, the Japanese government provided 414 scholarships for Lao government officials to improve their skills and study for master and doctoral programmes in Japan, Mr Thongsavanh added.

By Keoviengkhone Bounviseth
(Latest Update July 17, 2020)