DUSHANBE, September 20, Asia-Plus  -- According to the Delegation of the European Union in Tajikistan, the European Union has completed the evaluation of the latest round of the Erasmus Mundus program.

This program offers scholarships to students and scholars from around the world to study at European Universities.

87 Tajik students and scholars have been successful in evaluation process.  Last year a similar number of Tajik students and scholars were selected.  This demonstrates that Tajik students and institutions of Higher Education are now well familiar with the application procedures and are becoming active participants in this EU education program.

Students and scholars from the following Tajik Universities were among the selected applicants: Tajik National University; Tajik State University of Commerce; Institute of Economy and Trade of Tajik State University of Commerce; Tajik Agrarian University; Khujand Polytechnical Institute of Tajik Technical University; Khorog State University; Kulob Branch Technological University;  and Tajik Technological University.

Erasmus Mundus is one the main regional cooperation programs implemented under the umbrella of the European Education Initiative for Central Asia.  It is a cooperation and mobility program in the field of higher education to enhance the quality of European higher education and to promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through cooperation with third countries. It contributes to the development of human resources in EU partner countries and enhances the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in third countries by fostering mobility between them and the European Union.

The European Union, composed of 27 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor.  Tajikistan gets the main share of bilateral assistance in the Central Asian region (€66 million for 2007-2010 and 62 million for 2011-2013) in support to sector programs, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management.  Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water/environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The total value of EU assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over €500 million.