| James Kon |
FOURTEEN local students will be soon heading to China to pursue higher education after successfully obtaining scholarships from the Chinese government.
The scholarships were presented to the students by Yang Jian, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam in a ceremony held at the Chinese Embassy in Brunei Darussalam yesterday.
In her welcoming remarks, Yang Jian noted that while studying in China, the scholarship students will have a great opportunity to learn about China.
“China has very good relations with Brunei Darussalam. The number of Chinese companies coming to Brunei for economic cooperation is increasing and we also see an increasing number of Bruneians visiting China,” the envoy said.
She also highlighted the upcoming China-Asean Expo to be held in Guangxi, adding that His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam is expected to attend the grand event.
“More than 100 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Brunei are participating in the expo. With this expo, I believe that the exchanges between China and Brunei Darussalam will be further expanded,” the Chinese Ambassador said.
She also expressed hope that the scholarship students will act as Brunei’s ambassadors to China and make valuable contributions to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
The recipients of the scholarships in various fields and the universities they will be placed are: Hanisah Hamizah binti Sulaiman (Jiangsu University), Muhammad Fazizul Haqimie bin Jefren (Renmin University of China), Nurhidayatul Aqmar Bbnti Haji Morsid (Shandong University), Muhd Mansur Naqid Yussof (Shanghai International Studies University), Norfidahyani binti Haji Juali (Beijing Language and Culture University), Siti Noor Athirah binti Damit (Zhejiang University), Jolene Liew Hui Yun (Fudah University), Min Shen (Peking University), Foo Su Xin, Cynthia (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Pang Yi Jun (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics), Alex Wui Kist Soon (Tsinghua University), Wong Yik Houng (Xiamen University), Anjil Chawla Jatinder (Beijing Language and Culture University) and Kok Chai Sui (Huazhong Normal University).
So far, 30 Bruneian students have received study scholarships in China, based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam on cooperation in the field of higher education signed in 2004.
The two countries have been providing government scholarships on a reciprocal basis since 2005. In 2007, the Chinese Government decided to provide two additional scholarships to Bruneian students.
During the 18th China-Asean Summit in November 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had declared that China would give 1,000 more government scholarships to Asean member countries in the next three years. Following this, the Ministry of Education of China started a programme named ‘Special Scholarships for China-Asean Exchanges’. Under this programme, the Chinese Government has given 10 scholarships to Bruneian students since 2016.
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