AUSTRALIAN SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED
The Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh H E Mr. Douglas Foskett, the Joint-Secretary, ERD, Mr. Md. Mushfiqur Rahman, UNDP Country Director Mr Manoj Basnyat and First Secretary (AusAID-Development Cooperation), Mr. Peter Duncan-Jones are seen with Australian Scholarships recipients
“Australia is very pleased to be assisting Bangladesh develop its human capital, by offering 79 talented men and women scholarships to Australia’s world-class universities”, the Australian High Commissioner, H E Mr. Douglas Foskett, said today at a pre-departure ceremony held in the city.
Congratulating the scholarship awardees, Mr. Foskett noted that Bangladesh and Australia placed high priority on human resource development as a critical way to promote poverty reduction and economic development. He added that Australia was pleased to provide scholarships each year to assist Bangladesh build capacity in key areas like education, public health, water management, gender, public policy and diplomacy. Mr. Foskett said the scholarships program was an excellent opportunity to reinforce the already strong connections between the two countries.
“Australia’s partnership with both government and non-government agencies ensures the scholarship program will meet institutional capacity strengthening objectives. On their return from Australia, the scholarship awardees will be able to contribute significantly to their own workplaces and the country as a whole. They will join another 48 Bangladeshis already studying under the Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) program in Australia,” Mr. Foskett said. “To promote development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, AusAID, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program, this year initiated the ADS Chittagong Hill Tracts program, designed specifically for the people from Chittagong Hill Tracts, especially the ethnic minorities, who are committed to contributing to the region’s development.”
Included in the 2007 intake are 28 awardees of another new scholarship program – the Australian Leadership Awards – targeting current and future leaders and key personnel in corporate, academic, non-government and government services. Of the 25 countries participating in these Awards in this inaugural year, Bangladesh secured the highest number of awards – reflecting the strong interest and very high calibre of applicants here.
The Joint-Secretary ERD, Mr. Md. Mushfiqur Rahman stated that the scholarships program assisted in strengthening the human resource capacity of Bangladesh and expressed his gratitude to the Australian Government for the valuable support provided to the Government of Bangladesh through the Australian Scholarships. Mr. Rahman also mentioned that capacity development was an important area of development that had been identified in the PRSP. He urged candidates during their period in Australia to play a positive role as they would be the ambassadors of Bangladesh and promoting the image of their country.
Australian High Commission, Dhaka
17 December 2006