Islamabad, August 11, 2026: The Government of Japan has extended grant aid worth 350 million Japanese Yen for the implementation of the Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) FY2026 Programme in Pakistan.
A formal signing ceremony was held in Islamabad, where Notes Verbale were signed and exchanged between Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan Akamatsu Shuichi and Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Muhammad Humair Karim Kidwai.
A Grant Agreement outlining the implementation details of the project for Fiscal Year 2026 was also signed between Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office Shinozaki Yusuke and Senior Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Miran Mohiyuddin Soomro.
Launched in 2018, the JDS Programme is part of Japan’s efforts to strengthen the administrative capacities of the Government of Pakistan. It provides highly capable Pakistani government officers with opportunities to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees at leading Japanese universities.
The scholars are selected from among government officials involved in planning and implementing social and economic development policies.
The programme also aims to promote mutual understanding and further strengthen the longstanding friendship and cooperative relationship between Japan and Pakistan by developing future leaders who can serve as bridges between the two countries.
Through the JDS Programme, JICA has so far dispatched more than 100 Pakistani government officers to Japan. More than 80 scholars have successfully completed their studies and returned to Pakistan, where they are contributing their enhanced knowledge and skills to the country’s development.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi said the programme was based on the belief that investing in people was the most sustainable investment a nation could make.
He said supporting young civil servants to pursue master’s or doctoral degrees at leading Japanese universities was not simply about funding academic qualifications but about helping shape future leaders who would return to Pakistan with new knowledge, perspectives and a deeper understanding of Japan, its people, culture and values.
“These human bridges — built one scholar at a time — sustain and strengthen the longstanding friendship between our two nations,” he said.
The ambassador said Japan deeply valued its relationship with Pakistan, adding that the JDS Programme was one of the most personal and enduring ways in which Japan invested in that relationship.
JICA Pakistan Office Chief Representative Shinozaki Yusuke said he hoped JICA’s cooperation through the project would support the Government of Pakistan in enhancing institutional capacity and contribute to the country’s sustainable development.
He said the third phase of the programme aimed to continue strengthening the capacities of Pakistani government officials and further deepen the longstanding partnership between Japan and Pakistan.
The initiative, he added, would also contribute to one of the priority objectives of JICA’s country assistance policy concerning balanced and stable regional development through human resource development.
