The Chinese Government on August 7 provided 29 scholarships to Ethiopian university students to pursue further studies in China.

The 29 recipients will pursue graduate program in Chinese universities both in social and natural science disciplines, majority of them set to take on their doctoral studies, it was noted.

Samuel Kifle, Ethiopia's Deputy Minister of Education, said that the scholarship grant from the Chinese government to Ethiopians depicts "one of the best partnerships in the world in all the diplomatic, cultural and economic arenas."

"We will continue to have this strong relationship, because we are sending another 29 bright students who will make the difference in this country's future," Kifle said.

Noting the Ethiopian Government's commitment in strengthening access to higher education, Kifle has also commended the support from the Chinese Government in filling the gap in terms of access to higher education.

"I would like to thank the people and government of China for supporting all our endeavors of development, mainly in the education sector," he said.

Tan Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, who reiterated his country's commitment to support African countries' efforts in the education sector, also said that partnership in education is "very meaningful and important work."

Tan further called on scholarship recipients to serve as the connecting bridges in the people-to-people relations among the two countries, which he said is the basis for the comprehensive, strategic and cooperative partnership that the two countries are successfully celebrating presently.

Birhan Teka from Ethiopia's Aksum University, who is one of the recipients, also commended the opportunity.

"I have been looking for opportunities to further my doctoral education, which I had not been able to do since we don't have any academic institution in Ethiopia with PhD in archaeology," she said.

"I am very happy, because this is a great opportunity for me given how many years and I have waited for this to happen," she said.

"I hope I will be able to further improve my contribution to my country and people with the academic knowledge and potential I will have after finalizing my education in China," she added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2018)