Canada Announces $10 Million In Scholarship Program to Support Southeast Asia Education Exchange

Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, has announced that Canada will invest CAD $10 million over a five-year period to provide post-secondary students and mid-career professionals from Southeast Asia access to world-class education in Canada.

Minster Freeland made the announcement about the scholarship on August 6 at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional forum in Manila, Philippines. During the two-day conference, The Minister met with foreign ministers and senior officials from all 10 ASEAN member states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Since 2014, almost 12,000 students from ASEAN countries were enrolled in Canada.

Minister Freeland said, "Canada welcomes with open arms students from ASEAN. Providing educational exchanges to these promising young people will empower them and ensure they can be real agents of social and economic change in their communities and countries. Their contributions to Canadian classrooms will also enrich the experience of their peers and are a vital part of Canada’s multicultural society".