Reception held for Kenyan students awarded Chinese government scholarships

NAIROBI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A farewell reception was held for Kenyan students who received scholarships from the Chinese government to pursue advanced studies at universities in China.

Held at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the reception for 13 scholarship beneficiaries coincided with an award ceremony for the winners of the "China-Africa Cooperation in My Eyes" Essay Competition.

Senior Kenyan officials, diplomats, students, parents, and faculty attended the ceremony to bid farewell to local youth who will soon join Chinese universities to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies in several disciplines, including civil engineering and finance.

Beatrice Inyangala, principal secretary in the Ministry of Education, hailed the robust partnership with China to promote tertiary education and reskill local youth.

"I extend my sincere gratitude to the People's Republic of China for their continued support of the government of Kenya in education, research, innovation and development," Inyangala said.

She noted that over four decades, more than 2,000 Kenyans have benefited from scholarships to pursue advanced studies in China, and in the 2024-2025 financial year, 19 scholarships have been awarded to students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Zhang Zhizhong, minister counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, noted that awarding scholarships to local students to study in the Asian nation has fostered cultural exchanges and friendship.

"We hope that scholarship awardees are not only witnesses and beneficiaries but will also be contributors and promoters for the progress of China-Kenya and China-Africa friendship," Zhang said.

Zhang added that scholarships awarded to Kenyan youth to study in China align with the long-term objectives of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

Henry Rotich, chairman of the Kenya-China Alumni Association, said that local youth have gained invaluable technical and soft skills from scholarships awarded by the Chinese government and enterprises.

"The scholarships awarded by the Chinese government have paved the way for many of us who might have otherwise been denied the chance to pursue higher education," Rotich said.

He said that Kenyan beneficiaries of Chinese government scholarships since the early 1980s have returned home to contribute to the country's socioeconomic development.