Luanda - Thirty students from the Confucius Institute of the Agostinho Neto University (UAN) benefited on Wednesday, in Luanda, from internal scholarships to complete their training, an initiative of the government of China.
The scholarships were handed out symbolically to six of the 30 students by the Chinese ambassador to Angola, Zhang Bin, on the sidelines of the reception ceremony for the 150 students who graduated in China.
At the end of the ceremony, the ambassador told the press that the gesture is part of relations between the two countries and is aimed at supporting and assisting outstanding students.
The event aimed to bring together former Angolan students and students in China, so that they could celebrate their friendship and exchange views about their country.
He emphasised that since 2021, 409 Angolan students have graduated in his country, 135 of whom have received scholarships from the Chinese government, adding that every year they send around 20 Angolan scholarship holders to China.
On the other hand, the ambassador recalled that the volume of trade between Angola and China reached USD 23 billion in 2023.
He thanked public institutions for their support for cooperation with Angola in the field of education, among other areas.
China began receiving Angolan students shortly after diplomatic relations were established in 1983.
The diplomat expressed satisfaction at seeing that returning students have excelled in several sectors in Angola and contributing to the promotion of exchange and cooperation between the two countries.
Former student Edson Martins, who spent 12 years in China, said he first travelled through the National Institute for Scholarship Management (INAGBE), to train in clinical medicine.
He explained that as a result of his good performance, the Chinese government offered scholarships for Master's and Doctoral studies, and he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Clinical Endocrinology.
The professional added that as a result of his training and stay in China, he created a library with 180 books in the Mandarin language.
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