Phnom penh: Cambodian Minister of Labour and Vocational Training H.E. Heng Sour on Tuesday urged 21 recipients of the Japanese government's Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) for 2025 to fully absorb knowledge and skills in Japan, emphasising they will become valuable human capital to help drive Cambodia's development.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, H.E. Heng Sour met the scholarship winners, including nine women, at the Ministry. He extended a warm welcome and congratulations on their achievement of securing the prestigious award. The Minister noted that their success reflects their personal academic efforts, Cambodia's socio-economic progress, and the strong bilateral friendship between Cambodia and Japan.

H.E. Minister highlighted the importance of all academic fields offered under the programme for Cambodia's labour market and socio-economic growth. He encouraged the students to maximise the opportunity by building strong networks with professors and peers of all nationalities to broaden their expertise and facilitate future international cooperation.

Moreover, he urged the scholarship recipients to uphold good conduct by demonstrating Khmer values of honesty, diligence, and kindness while fostering unity within the Cambodian student association in Japan. H.E. Heng Sour expressed his firm confidence that the awardees will succeed academically and return home as high-quality, innovative human resources, contributing further to Cambodia's development.

The 21 scholarship winners are scheduled to depart for Japan later this month to pursue master's and doctoral degrees.