The Philippines is looking into the possibility of partnering with Israel for a scholarship program that will expand advanced learning opportunities for personnel of the Department of Finance (DOF) in agricultural economics, economics and finance.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has broached this proposal to Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ephraim Ben Matityau, who expressed openness to expanding people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and Israel during a recent meeting.
“I want to step up our scholarship program which we pay for to send our students abroad. So far, we have sent them to the US [United States], Australia and the UK [United Kingdom]. We also sent them to Japan and Korea. I want to expand. I want to look at an agri-economics program, at finance and economics for DOF personnel who can be sent to Israel,” Dominguez said.
In turn, Matityau described Dominguez’s proposal as “very good,” pointing out that Israel’s high-technology financial system “is probably the most significant contribution we can give in a manner of exchange and partnerships.”
He said such people-to-people exchanges was already introduced by Israel in the Philippines’s private sector, with about 12 operators of start-up firms going to Israel to learn about the country’s financial technology system, with some of them returning to the Philippines to become mentors to other start-up companies.
Israel also invites students of agriculture from Mindanao and other parts of the country to on-the-job training programs to learn about Israel’s advanced farming and production technologies.
Dominguez said Israel can send their treasury personnel here to train with the Philippines’s Bureau of the Treasury.
Earlier, DOF personnel were invited to apply for the Knowledge Co-Creation Program (KCCP) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which offers master’s and doctorate degree scholarships in seven universities in Japan.
The DOF was also among the beneficiaries of postgraduate studies programs under the Australia Awards Scholarships, and several scholarship grants from the US and the UK.