Ulaanbaatar,
April 14, 2026 /MONTSAME/. President
Khurelsukh Ukhnaa received Yohei Sasakawa, Honorary Chairman of the Nippon
Foundation on April 13, 2026.
The president expressed appreciation for the Foundation’s projects and programs in
education, human resources, traditional medicine, and research, noting their
important contribution to Mongolia’s sustainable and inclusive socio-economic
development. He also welcomed the progress of the scholarship program that
enables 1,000 students from rural areas to study on full scholarships at the
National University of Mongolia, Mongolian National University of Medical
Sciences, Mongolian University of Life Sciences, and Mongolian University of
Science and Technology, noting that the first 100 students are studying
successfully.
The
president highlighted that the scholarship program will make a valuable
contribution to training the human resources needed to implement national
initiatives such as “Billions of Trees,” “Food Supply and Security,” and
“Healthy Mongolian.” The program to provide full scholarships to 1,000 students
at Mongolian universities was agreed during President Khurelsukh’s state visit
to Japan in 2022. In line with this, the Presidential Office and the Nippon
Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding in 2025 to implement the
“Japan–Mongolia Sasakawa Scholarship Program.”
Under
the program, students will study in fields including environmental science,
forestry, ecology, clinical medicine, public health, nutrition, animal
husbandry, agronomy, plant protection, food production, food supply and safety,
biotechnology, microbiology and engineering. Upon graduation, they will work in
their local areas for three years. The program will run for 12 years with grant
funding of more than USD 5 million.
The
Nippon Foundation also plans to implement a short-term training program in
Japan for young officials of the Presidential Office and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
President
Khurelsukh awarded Yohei Sasakawa the Order of the Red Banner of Labour and
Yuji Mori, Special Advisor to the Foundation, the Polar Star Order.
