COLOMBO — Japan has provided Sri Lanka with a grant of 282 million yen, about 591 million Sri Lankan rupees, to fund postgraduate study in Japan for 15 Sri Lankan public-sector officials, the Japanese Embassy in Colombo said Monday.
The funding, provided under Japan’s Human Resource Development Scholarship program, known as JDS, will enable the officials to pursue two-year master’s degree programs at Japanese universities beginning in 2027.
The scholarship program aims to develop a new generation of public administrators by providing promising government officials with advanced academic training in areas considered important to Sri Lanka’s economic and institutional development.
The selected officials will undertake studies in fields including public policy, international relations, international development, macroeconomics, public finance and investment management, as well as industrial development policy and investment promotion, according to the embassy.
Akio Isomata, Japan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, and Harshana Suriyapperuma, secretary to the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, signed and exchanged notes formalising the grant in Colombo on Monday.
Japan has supported the JDS program in Sri Lanka since 2010. According to the embassy, 254 Sri Lankan public-sector officials have received support through the initiative since its introduction.
The program is designed not only to strengthen the professional skills of individual officials but also to improve the capacity of Sri Lanka’s public institutions by allowing officials to bring knowledge and expertise acquired in Japan back into government service.
Tokyo also sees the scholarship recipients as potential long-term links between the two countries. The embassy said participants were expected to use the academic, professional and personal networks developed during their time in Japan to strengthen ties between Sri Lanka and Japan.
The latest grant comes as Japan continues its development engagement with Sri Lanka following the country’s severe economic crisis, with assistance spanning economic recovery, infrastructure, governance and human-resource development.
The Japanese Embassy said Monday’s agreement renewed Tokyo’s commitment to supporting human-resource development in Sri Lanka and expressed hope that the program would further strengthen relations between the two countries.
