Forty-nine Gambians have been awarded Taiwanese scholarships to undertake different programmes at various universities and institutions in the Asian-Pacific island state.

Five students received the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan scholarhips, 18 received the International Development Cooperation Fund (ICDF) scholarships, 25 students received scholarships for the civil engineering elite programme and one received the Ministry of Education scholarship for Mandarin studies.

On Friday, the Taiwanese plenipotentiary to The Gambia presided over the orientation for 18 ICDF sponsored students, at the residence of the Taiwanese Embassy. The group is billed to leave for Taipei on August 24.

For the first time, this year's package includes two masters programme in clinical medicine, which were awarded to two young Gambian medical doctors, who graduated at the University of The Gambia.

 Ambassador Richard Shih congratulated the students for winning the scholarships, which are awarded to successful applicants after a rigorous assessment of one's academic aptitude and records by a panel at ICDF Headquaters in Taipei.

"This is a great achievement for all of you. It is not easy, but because of your hard work, you were given the scholarships," Ambassador Shih told the students, but emphasized that the credit should be given to President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, for laying a solid foundation for Gambians to benefit from the scholarship programmes."The Gambia and Taiwan are close partners. We live with each other and work with each other," he said.

The ambassador reminded the students of their responsibilities to The Gambia, urging them to work harder and return to the country at the end of their academic programmes in order to contribute more effectively to national development.

He described Taiwan as a beautiful country with a population of 23 million people. Taiwan is approximately three times bigger than The Gambia and 90 per cent of her population lives along the West coast, owing to her geographical realities.

"We are friendly people living in a very secure environment. Relax and prepare yourself for hard work. Prepare yourselves for the working days ahead," Ambassador Shih added, while wishing the students a safe journey to the island state. Another group of students will also leave Banjul in subsequent months.