Serbia govt offers Ghana extra 30 scholarships

 The Republic of Serbia has announced plans to grant an additional 30 scholarships to Ghanaian students, bringing the total number of schol­arships to at least 81.

This move forms part of the Serbian Government’s “World in Serbia” scholarship initiative, which has previously awarded 51 scholar­ships to Ghanaian students.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed this yesterday in Accra when he briefed the media follow­ing the visit of the Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister, Marko ?uri?.

The official visit focused on ef­forts aimed at strengthening bilat­eral relations, trade, and economic cooperation.

As part of his visit, Mr ?uri? would have engagements with the Ministers of Food and Agricul­ture, Tourism, Culture and Cre­ative Art, Sports and Recreation and Defence, where a Memoran­dum of Understanding on Sports and Corporation in the field of Culture would be signed between the two parties.

“We also broached the subject of the Serbian Government’s continuous award of scholarships to Ghanaian students. I did com­mend the Serbian Government for granting 51 scholarships to Gha­naian students and we have been informed that another 30 will be offered to Ghanaian students this year,” Mr Ablakwa said.

Similarly, the Minister extend­ed an open invitation to Serbian students to study in Ghana, particularly in African Studies and Sociology.

At the security front, Mr Ab­lakwa said the two parties were discussing a defence cooperation agreement to equip Ghana’s armed forces to combat terrorism.

He also said that Serbia plans to grant 100,000 work permits this year for which he expressed in­terest in signing a labour-mobility agreement to ensure most of the Ghanaian youth work in Serbia.

Regarding the work permit, he said: “A Memorandum of Under­standing (MOU) is being finalised to outline specific quotas and skills in demand, details will be shared once the MOU is signed”.

Mr Ablakwa commended the Government of Serbia for sup­porting Ghana’s maritime sector, through the ongoing collaboration between the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and Vlata­com Research and Development Institute of Serbia for the major upgrade or overhaul of Ghana’s existing VTMIS.

Mr ?uri? noted that, a number of the scholarships to be award­ed will be directed at agricultural faculties and with Serbia’s facilities such as biotechnology, and the Institute for Corn, the awardees could adopt innovative technolo­gies in agricultural production.

He also emphasised the long-standing friendship between Ghana and Serbia, rooted in their shared commitment to the UN Charter and values of peace, inter­national cooperation, and respect for sovereignty.

He commended Ghana for the hospitality given to him and his delegation on arrival while assur­ing Ghana of Serbia’s unwavering support.

With Serbia’s economic prog­ress, including doubling its nation­al GDP and reducing unemploy­ment rates, he expressed interest in exploring opportunities for economic cooperation with Gha­na, particularly in the context of Ghana’s 24-hour economy initia­tive which he said could increase the pace of economic growth and development in the country.

This he said, should inspire businesses from his region to grab the opportunity to connect to Ghanaian businesses and econo­mies.

 BY CYNTHIA ASAMPANA

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