KUALA LUMPUR, June 27- United Kingdom (UK) is considering to increase the number of its Chevening scholarship for Malaysian students in future, said UK’s Minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hugo Swire (photo).
He said Malaysia was currently the second country where the UK was sponsoring the largest number of students for the prestigious scholarship.
The UK sponsored 28 Malaysians to pursue their Masters programmes in the UK this year, double the number it sponsored in 2011.
“I want to increase that figure because I think it is an incredible good way of furthering relations between our people which is already at the all time high,” he told reporters after launching the Malaysia UK Alumni Initiative at the British High Commissioner’s residence here, tonight.
Also present was Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
The Malaysia UK Alumni Initiative is a programme aimed at strengthening the High Commission’s strategic engagement with Malaysian UK Alumni in promoting education in the United Kingdom (UK).
It also aims to serve as a platform in creating and enhancing mutual commercial, diplomatic and cultural opportunities for both countries.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the programme could help increase the number of Malaysian students to choose UK to further their studies.
He also noted that the alumni also played a crucial role in strengthening the bilateral ties between both countries.
There are currently 14,250 Malaysian students studying in the UK and 500,000 Malaysian UK Alumni.
Malaysia also ranked fifth among the top 10 non-European Union countries that send its students to study in the UK.
– BERNAMA
