In a significant step towards bolstering human resource development, Japan has extended a grant aid worth JPY 495 million (approximately USD 3 million) to Bangladesh. The exchange of notes was signed by Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori and Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Secretary of the Economic Relations Division at the Ministry of Finance.

Following this agreement, ICHIGUCHI Tomohide, Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Office, and Ms. Sharifa Khan signed a relevant grant agreement to facilitate the “Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS).”

Since the JDS scheme’s inception in 2002, it has enabled 507 Bangladeshi officials to pursue master’s degrees and 18 officials to undertake doctoral studies in Japan. For the Japanese Fiscal Year 2024, Bangladesh ranked second globally in terms of the number of JDS fellows.

Ambassador Iwama Kiminori emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “Bangladesh is aiming to achieve developed country status within the next 20 years. Government officials play a crucial role in realizing this goal. Our support for Bangladeshi government officials has significantly contributed to the country’s development since 2002. I believe that this continued support will accelerate Bangladesh’s progress over the next two decades.”