Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Ito Naoki wants to increase people-to-people exchange along with economic partnership as he eyes elevating the relations to a new height in the upcoming 50 years of bilateral ties celebration in 2022.
“Over the past decade, our partnership progressed well and added its depth. And I really hope that the people-to-people exchange will also increase in parallel to economic partnership,” he said while at the Embassy of Japan and the Department of Japanese Studies, University of Dhaka jointly organised “Study in Japan Seminar 2021”online.
The seminar provided information on pursuing higher education in Japan, the Japanese government scholarship (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; MEXT Scholarship), study and life in Japan as well as its advantages.
More than 2,000 people, including students and faculty members of Dhaka University, participated in this online seminar live.
Two speakers who completed their degrees in Japan on this MEXT scholarship programme shared their study experiences and daily lives as foreign students in Japan.
“I hope to make the most of the anniversary years of 2021, the 50th anniversary of independence of Bangladesh, as well as 2022, the 50th anniversary of Japan-Bangladesh relations, to elevate our partnership to a new height,” he said.
“Looking into the next 50 years, my strong wish is to see an increasing number of capable and promising students of Bangladesh apply for the opportunity to study in Japan to be the bridges between our two countries in the future.”
Dr. Abdullah-AL-Mamun, Chairman of Department of Japanese Studies, mentioned “We see continuous growth in FDI flow from Japan to Bangladesh and these people really need skilled human resources.
Students who have Japanese degrees or those who go to Japan for studying will have a great opportunity to work for companies coming to Bangladesh from Japan with investment.
This investment will contribute to our overall economic development”.
Over 5 decades, Japan has been providing government scholarships to more than 4,300 Bangladeshis under the MEXT Scholarship scheme.
In 2020 alone, more than 130 Bangladeshi students newly received this government-funded scholarship and are now studying in Japan in various academic fields.
The scholarship application opens twice a year in mid-April (Embassy recommendation) and October (University recommendation).