Farewell for MEXT scholarship awardees

Islamabad: To bid farewell to awardees of the MEXT scholarship programme, the Charge d’Affaires of Japan, Takashi Harada, hosted a reception cum dinner which was somewhat different than the usual gathering that takes place each year. Besides members of the Monbukagakusho Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP) and members of the Japanese embassy, delegates from the Southwest Asia South Asian Federation of the Japanese University Alumni Associations (SAFJUAA) were also present at the event.

Addressing the gathering, the host congratulated the scholarship recipients and expressed hope that they would come back to Pakistan to utilize the knowledge and expertise acquired in Japan for the future development of Pakistan, as well as become bridges of friendship between the two countries. He concluded his speech by inviting his guests to enjoy their dinner and elicited a laugh from them by adding, in Urdu, “Rag kay khao!” (Eat to your heart’s content!)

A little entertainment, which goes a long way in nurturing goodwill and understanding between people, so after dinner it was a pleasant surprise when a female delegate from Sri Lanka sang a song in Japanese and the Director, Public Affairs Japanese embassy, Katsunori Ashida also contributed with a vocal performance. It ended the evening on a less formal note and probably left everyone in a good mood!

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, (MEXT) awards research and undergraduate scholarships for masters/doctorate and bachelor’s degrees to selected candidates from South Asian countries, aiming to provide them with an opportunity to pursue higher studies in their respective field at the leading public sector universities in Japan. This year eleven students from Pakistan were selected for the scholarship but only seven were in Islamabad and attended the farewell.

It was the turn of MAAP to host the SAFJUAA conference, which is attended by members of the Japan Alumni Association representatives but only delegates from Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the two-day conference as alumni from other countries did not get visas. Besides interaction on different subjects of interest and exchange of views, a Japanese language speech contest was held and all participants were awarded certificates at the reception.

From 1963 till now, a large number of Pakistani students have returned after obtaining their PhD/Master’s degrees in Japan. They are actively working in the academia, public and private sectors and have made significant contributions to the development of Pakistan in various fields, as well as in strengthening friendly relationship between Pakistan and Japan. Japan awards graduate and post graduate fully funded scholarships to Pakistani students every year besides offering many short-term scholarships and training courses round the year.