Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia, H.E. Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr., and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, H.E. Péter Szijjártó have signed a scholarship agreement on the margins of the 2nd African Union-European Union Ministerial Meeting, held in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, H.E. Péter Szijjártó, has offered ten scholarship to the government and people of Liberia through Liberian Foreign Minister, Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr., on the margins of the 2nd African Union-European Union Ministerial Meeting, held in Kigali, Rwanda from October 25—26, 2021.
Speaking during a brief ceremony in Kigali, Minister Szijjártó said he was delighted to sign the scholarship agreement with his counterpart from Liberia, noting that he expects to have ten students from Liberia on an annual basis to study in Hungary.
Minister Szijjártó used the occasion to call on Minister Kemayah to assist in the recruitment procedure of the students, who will benefit from the scholarship, stating that he wants Minister Kemayah to encourage Liberian students to seek for higher education in Hungary.
“Our universities offer courses in both English and French to our foreign students, and I hope that many Liberian students take advantage of the scholarship,” he added.
Responding, Liberia’s Chief Diplomat expressed thanks and appreciation to the government and people of Hungary for offering the annual scholarship to Liberia, asserting that capacity building is key to Liberia’s development agenda.
“We think that it will go a long way in terms of giving added impetus to our development drive, because through the scholarship they will study in French and English in Hungarian universities. For us in Liberia our official language is English; I know our students will be able to go through,” Minister Kemayah averred.
According to the agreement, the Hungarian government will provide the following to the Liberian scholarship holders: tuition-free courses, dormitory places on the campus of the receiving higher-education institution or contribution to the accommodation costs as stipulated by the relevant legal regulations in effect at the time of the present MoU’s signing, entitlement to health services and the option for additional health insurance covering services in a foreign language, use of free library services, monthly allowance in accordance with the prevailing legal regulations defining the amount of the scholarships for foreign students in effect at the time of the signing of the scholarship contract.
The agreement further stated that the scholarship program is operated by the Tempus Public Foundation on behalf of the Hungarian Participant. Further information as regards the application and the scholarship (actual monthly allowance, accommodation, entitlement to health services) will be published in the given year’s call for application.
“The Foreign Ministry shall benefit three (3) slots of the ten (10) scholarship threshold in fields relevant to its on-going institutional reform efforts and human development needs.
“The Hungarian Participant offers at most 10 scholarships annually to the citizens of the Republic of Liberia for pursuing studies in Hungary, either in Hungarian or in a foreign language, according to the following terms: at most three scholarships annually for undergraduate (BA/BSc) studies in any field of interest, including Agricultural Science, Arts and Humanities, Computer Science and Information Technology, Engineering Science, Electricity, Nursing, Dentistry, Teacher Training, Education, Geology, to at most two scholarships annually for full doctoral (PhD/DLA) studies in any field of interest,” the agreement stated.