Twenty state and municipal employees from Kyrgyzstan will travel to Japan for training under the JDS scholarship program funded by the Government of Japan. According to Mamatkanov, Kyrgyzstan highly values its long-standing cooperation with the Government of Japan, the Embassy of Japan in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan International Cooperation Center. This year, 20 state and municipal employees will travel to Japan under the JDS program: 19 will pursue master’s degrees and one will study in a doctoral program. The JDS program has been implemented in Kyrgyzstan since 2006. Over this period, more than 300 Kyrgyz state and municipal employees have received the opportunity to study at Japanese higher education institutions.