Politics

Hungary pledges 30 scholarships per year to Kurdistan Region students

Hungary added to its ongoing support towards the development of the Kurdistan Region by providing 30 university scholarships annually to students from the federal region of Iraq, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Mustafa Shilani 2019/09/19 17:18

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ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Hungary added to its ongoing support towards the development of the Kurdistan Region by providing 30 university scholarships annually to students from the federal region of Iraq, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Minister Aram Mohammed announced on Thursday that a delegation of Hungary’s Consul-General in Erbil and Hungarian education officials visited his ministry recently and made the pledge.

“Hungary seeks to develop relations with Kurdistan in various arenas, among them the fields of higher education and scientific research,” said Mohammed to local media, describing the new agreement between his ministry and Hungary’s Ministry of Human Capacities, which he said offers scholarships for both Masters and Ph.D. candidates.

“Students will be able to apply for the scholarships starting from December 2019,” added Mohammed, “along with details and conditions for applying to the people of Kurdistan Region.”

The minister said he greatly highly appreciated Hungary’s present and past initiatives and assistance to the Kurdistan Region, not only in terms of higher education but also for their continued support of Peshmerga and other development programs.

In May, a special ceremony marked the reopening of a church on Wednesday in the Kurdistan Region’s city of Soran after it was renovated by the Hungarian government.

In March 2018, Christian leaders gathered to praise the Hungarian government for opening a new school for displaced children as well as for its continued support of the Kurdistan Region in general. Hungary's grant of US $700,000 to the project, meant for children displaced by the war with the Islamic State, was matched with the same amount being donated by the Archdiocese of Erbil.

Hungary is also one of the members of the US-led coalition in the campaign against the Islamic State that has provided military support to the Kurdistan Region over the past few years as part of the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center (KTCC). The KTCC is made up of instructors from nine other countries: Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Sweden.

Editing by John J. Catherine