Send-off held for Jordanian recipients of Chinese government scholarships

AMMAN — Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Pan Weifang on Thursday held a farewell lunch for Jordanians who won the 2019 Chinese government scholarship at the Fairmont Hotel in Amman. 

In 2019, a total of 84 young Jordanians received Chinese government scholarships to attend degree programmes in China under the Jordan-China government cultural cooperation framework.

Out of the 84 young Jordanians 25 are government officials and business managers from the private sector participating in master's and PhD programmes through China-aid scholarship. 

Reem Shakhanbeh, diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expats, is pursuing her PhD through the scholarship, majoring in theoretical economics, mainly in the field of national development.

“My main goal is helping my own country, Jordan, to rise up and continue its national development socially, economically, culturally, and also in terms of education and health,” she told The Jordan Times.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 42 years ago, bilateral relations have been developing “smoothly and are now in the best period in history”, according to the Chinese ambassador.

Under the “One Belt and One Road” initiative, the Chinese government will continue to deepen the strategic cooperative partnership with Jordan and strengthen pragmatic cooperation in various fields. 

Weifang also voiced the Chinese government's encouragement of enterprises to “actively explore investment opportunities in Jordan”. 

He said: "At present, Jordan faces great difficulties and challenges in its economic development. As a sincere friend of Jordan, the Chinese government will continue to provide assistance within its capacity to Jordan."

On September 3, Minister of Public Works and Housing Falah Omoush and Chinese officials signed the Salt Road Expansion Project, with China providing $30 million as aid, according to a Chinese embassy statement sent to The Jordan Times on Thursday. 

The statement said that a batch of advanced customs inspection equipment assisted by China will soon arrive in Jordan. 

Over the years, the Chinese government has stepped in to help developing countries in the field of human resources development cooperation, and its cooperation methods are becoming more and more diversified, from practical technical training, to formal schooling education, official seminars and training courses, read the statement.

The Jordanian government also attaches great importance to China-aid training, the statement said, noting that efforts of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and other ministries have sent many Jordanian government officials and technical personnel to China to participate in various multilateral and bilateral training courses. 

At the same time, China has sent experts to Jordan to hold other bilateral training courses, so as to benefit more Jordanians. 

In 2017, 304 Jordanian government officials and technicians went to China for training, 438 in 2018, and 297 so far in 2019, according to the statement.

In order to support global sustainable development, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the UN headquarters on September 26, 2015 that China would set up an academy for south-south cooperation and development.

On April 29, 2016, the national development research institute of Peking University, one of the top institutions of higher learning in China, established the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD), the statement said.

It added that the establishment came with the vision to build "the most attractive national development research institution in the world, the most potential high-end talent training base in developing countries, and the most dynamic platform for global governance, so as to share ideas and experience in economic development and governance with other developing countries and strengthen international cooperation". 

Two Jordanian government officials were admitted to ISSCAD in 2018.  In 2019, three more young Jordanians were admitted to ISSCAD, the statement concluded.