STORY: Over 100 Ethiopian students win Chinese scholarships
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 12, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 14, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:27
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
CATEGORY: EDUCATION

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the awards ceremony of the China-Ethiopia Friendship Scholarship
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SAMUEL KIFLE, AAU's interim president
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZHAO ZHIYUAN, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MULUGETA AYELE, Scholarship recipient

STORYLINE:

A total of 143 Ethiopian university students have won scholarships provided by the Chinese government to help them pursue graduate and post-graduate studies across different academic fields in the country's largest Addis Ababa University (AAU).
   
Speaking at the awards ceremony of the China-Ethiopia Friendship Scholarship on Friday at the AAU, the university's Interim President Samuel Kifle said the Chinese government and different universities in China have had "strong and meaningful collaboration with the AAU, which helped us to train our faculties, to train our students."
   
He said the collaboration between Chinese and Ethiopian academic institutions is reflected in the robust Sino-Ethiopia ties.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SAMUEL KIFLE, AAU's interim president
"Ethiopia and China treasure a strong, strategic and all-inclusive relation. This cooperation and relation is also supported by the cooperation we have in the education and cultural relations. Over the past many years, China has remained to be the single most dependable and trustable Ethiopia's partner to its endeavor of sustainable peace, development and prosperity."

Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan, for his part, called on the scholarship recipients to help contribute to Ethiopia's socioeconomic development.
   
Noting that the AAU and its graduates have over the years played an important role in fostering China-Ethiopia ties, the ambassador underscored the need to further strengthen the AAU's role as a "bridge" between the two countries.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZHAO ZHIYUAN, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia
"I strongly believe that the AAU will play an even more constructive role in developing China-Ethiopia friendly relations and building the China-Africa community with a shared future."

Mulugeta Ayele, one of the scholarship recipients, said the opportunity will help him and his fellow students to further their studies and, eventually, contribute to Ethiopia's development.
   
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MULUGETA AYELE, Scholarship recipient
"This support will allow us to focus more on our PhD research and deliver quality results that contribute to the knowledge and solving practical problems on the ground. Behind every support like the China-Ethiopia Friendship Scholarship, there is a commitment to fostering education and investing in the potential of individuals. We are determined to make the most of this support to deliver something that is beneficial to the development of our country and contribute with all our capacity to the long-standing and bilateral relationship between China and Ethiopia."

The scholarship awards ceremony also featured an awards ceremony for 22 Ethiopian students who had won the "Chinese Bridge" language proficiency competition.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Addis Ababa.
(XHTV)