Japanese ambassador’s farewell to MEXT Scholarship Grantees

Japanese embassy reception for Pakistani scholarship holders

Sunday, March 15, 2009
By Our correspondent
Islamabad

To bid bon voyage to the newly selected MEXT (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan: Monbukagakusho) Scholarship Grantees 2009, the ambassador of Japan and Mrs Chihiro Atsumi hosted a reception at their residence.

This has become a tradition with the Japanese embassy since the programme began over a decade ago but for the first time the ambassador’s wife was present; a few other guests with a ‘Japanese connection’ were invited and ladies of the embassy dressed in their traditional kimono were also present to grace the occasion. This made for a very pleasant change and more of a social occasion than a business-like one, while the fact that the grantees witnessed the tea ceremony gave them a glimpse into the culture of the country where they will be spending the next two and a half years.
Acting as anchorperson for the evening, embassy member, Ghazala Ali welcomed the guests and invited Ambassador Atsumi to address the gathering. He began with a greeting in Japanese, ‘Youkoso’ and Urdu.

‘Assalam-o-alaikum’ then went on to thank Dr Muhammad Akbar president of the Monbukagakusho Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP) for his and the other members dedication in helping with the selection of the grantees.

"Living and researching in Japan will give you many opportunities to touch our traditions, mindset and culture," he said to the eleven candidates "and I thank the spouses of the embassy officials who have given you this brief introduction. I hope you will benefit from your stay and after your return to your country, contribute to the betterment of its society."

He concluded by asking them to get to know each other, MAAP members and the other guests and ended with a ‘thank you’ (Bahout shukria) in Urdu and the wish ‘mujhay umeed hai kay aap kamiab hongay’ (I hope you will be successful)

Dr Akbar then shared his personal experiences of the caring nature and hospitality of the Japanese people and wished the scholarship recipients success in their studies, while asking them to remember that they were all ambassadors of Pakistan.

Ghazala Ali then asked the recipients — two women and nine men — to introduce themselves and say a few words about their research topics. They are Maryam Zafar, Saba Batool Miyan, Saad Gul, Asad Habib, Muhammad Arif Khan, Hidayat Ullah Khan, Muhammad Ishfaq, Muhammad Naeem Mushtaq, Muhammad Imran Khan, Muhammad Farzik Ijaz and Umer Habib, representing all parts of Pakistan. They will be studying in different universities in Japan in diverse subjects of their choice and capability. There are two type of scholarships: Research (Kenkyu-sei) and Undergraduate (Gakubu-sei) details of which can be found on the embassy website.

The ceremony concluded with a Japanese style toast ‘Kanpai Cheers’ (also a first!) and after a photo shoot, everyone sat down to enjoy dinner in which both Pakistani and Japanese cuisine was served — a very thoughtful gesture indeed! Lots of photographs were taken for posterity, especially near the Japanese doll display, which reminded of the ‘Doll Festival’ one of many celebrated in Japan.

MAAP is an organisation of the scholars, scientists, doctors, engineers etc. who were awarded scholarships by the MEXT for higher studies in Japan and was founded in 1996 in Islamabad. The objectives of this organisation are to develop contacts with the Monbukagakusho scholars not only in Pakistan but also in other countries, with the view of exchanging information of mutual benefit. This organisation also contributes in strengthening friendly relationship between Japan and Pakistan. The organization provides guidance to the students on how to study in Japan, arranges an annual get-together for all the members, takes out a bi-annual newsletter, in addition to collaborating with the Embassy of Japan and the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association in arranging cultural functions.


Source: daily The NEWS