Monday, October 22, 2012
By ABDULKADIR KHALIF
Somalia students boarding a Turkish Airlines plane in Mogadishu to go for further studies in Turkey October 21, 2012. ABDULKADIR KHALIF | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Some 250 Somali students have left for further studies in Turkey under a scholarship programme.
The students left Mogadishu on Sunday for Istanbul.
They came from different parts of Somalia, with most of them having qualified after being vetted online.
The Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, Dr Koni Torun, saw the student off and disclosed that the scholarship holders would be attending diverse universities.
Said Dr Torun, “150 students will be attending masters and doctoral studies”, with the rest pursuing undergraduate courses.
Ever since Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Somali capital Mogadishu in August 2011, Turkey has been offering humanitarian and development assistance to Somalia.
Last year, hundreds of Somali students benefited from Turkish scholarships.
In addition, there were diverse projects run and funded by Turkish institutions including schools, colleges and hospitals in Mogadishu.
Others are planned elsewhere in Somalia, according to Turkish diplomats in the Horn of Africa country.
All the 250 scholarship holders left aboard a Turkish Airline plane.
“This is, nevertheless, another gesture to help Somalia recover from years of neglect,” said Dr Torun.