The Republic of China on Taiwan is showing no indication of abating in their sustained effort to contribute meaningfully to the sustainable and positive growth of The Gambia in all fields of development.

In yet another gigantic move by the island republic to stimulate growth in the impoverished tiny West African state, at least 18 Gambians have been awarded scholarships by the government of Taiwan to pursue Masters degree and Ph.D. in various disciplines.

Addressing an orientation meeting recently held at the Taiwanese Embassy in Kanifing, Dr. Patrick Chang, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia, congratulated the beneficiaries for securing the scholarships.
He encouraged them to work hard and concentrate on their studies while in Taiwan. This, he said, would enable them contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic advancement of The Gambia upon completion of their courses. 

According to the Taiwanese envoy, 25 students from The Gambia are currently studying in Taiwan in the area of petroleum and that another 25 would also leave for Taiwan to study in the area of Information, Communications and Technology at Taipei University of Technology.

Meanwhile, the scholarship packages provided for 14 out of the 18 beneficiaries were provided by Taiwan International Cooperation Development Fund TaiwanICDF and the beneficiaries are Demba B. Jallow, Haddy T. Bah, Philip Nyoukey, Edward Mansal, Yusupha Touray, Adama Ceesay, Lamin Ceesay, Adama Cole, Abdoulie Jallow, Alagie Saine, Mary Mendy, Demba Sankareh, Kumba Conateh-Nam and Saikou Sanyang. The rest; Lang Sanyang, Nanikoi Bojang, Lallah Badgie and Salimatou Drammeh received Taiwan scholarships.

They would be attending different universities to pursue degrees in various fields of study such as tropical agriculture, nursing, environmental sustainable development, public health, aquatic science and marine resource management as well as Mandarin studies.

It would be recalled that in March this year, a delegation from TaiwanICDF, led by Mr. Joseph Huang, Program Manger, TaiwanICDF, visited The Gambia to create more awareness about the Taiwan International Corporation Development Fund (TaiwanICDF). The delegation had information sessions on the 13th and 14th  of March at the Gambia Training and Multi Media Institute, GTMI, and Kairaba Beach Hotel respectively.
Meanwhile, the 18 aforementioned students would leave Banjul at the end of this month for Taipei.