A total of 40 Ghanaians have been granted scholarship to pursue Master’s degree programmes in various universities in Korea.
The scholarship is funded by the Korean government through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The beneficiaries were selected from among 193 individuals who applied for the 2022 KOICA Master’s Degree scholarship. It is opened to 58 countries globally.
Speaking at an orientation programme for the beneficiaries yesterday in Accra, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Lim Jung-Taek, said Korea had been supporting Ghana since the establishment of diplomatic relations and ties in 1977.
He explained thatafter the diplomatic ties between the two countries, there had been numerous projects and programmes implemented all over the country through its agencies and centres.
Mr Jung-Taek mentioned the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), the Korea Exim Bank, and Korea Programme on International Agriculture (KOPIA)as the agencies and centres supervising the projects and programmes.
He said Korea’s bilateral development cooperation strategy for Ghana focused on four priority areas, namely agriculture, public health, education and governance.
“All these initiatives and interventions are directly shaping and translating into the socio-economic growth and development of Ghana.
“In addition to the traditionally strong political relations and economic cooperation, our various programmes and projects led by the Republic of Korea have been thriving recently in Ghana,” he said.
The Country Director of KOICA-Ghana, Mr Moo Heon Kong, said 400 applicants were globally selected for the programme annually, with Ghana being among the African countries with high number of beneficiaries.
“Our master’s degree scholarship programme is globally competitive because it is opened to 58 countries; 16 Asian countries, 23 African countries, 15 Latin American countries, 5 countries from the Middle East and 5 from the Commonwealth of Independent States.
KOICA Ghana Office started the scholarship programme in 2010 and from that year till 2021, a total of 268 Ghanaian government officials have benefitted from the programme” Mr Kong said.
He urged the participants to obey and respect the laws and regulations of the country as their predecessors demonstrated decent lifestyle during their tenure.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
