Dacian Ciolos, Romania's candidate for the position of Secretary General of the Francophonie, announced on Wednesday the launch of an academic cooperation program between Romania and the African Union. Through this initiative, Romanian universities will offer up to 1,709 study scholarships to young Africans, starting with the 2027-2028 academic year.

According to a release sent to AGERPRES, the program is the result of a collaboration between the National Council of Rectors of Romania and the African Union Commission, a partnership initiated following discussions held by Dacian Ciolos with African Union representatives earlier this year.

The new initiative complements existing scholarship programs funded by the Romanian state for international students and represents an additional contribution by Romanian universities toward developing cooperation with African nations, the source noted.

Dacian Ciolos made the announcement during a press conference in Paris, prior to his departure for the Francophonie Summit, which will take place this Sunday and Monday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

'The future of the Francophonie is built through the concrete opportunities we offer to young people. From the very beginning of my candidacy, I have maintained that we must align education and vocational training with the needs of economies and the labor market. I am pleased that the dialogue I held with the African Union has contributed to the development of this partnership between Romanian universities and Africa. This is an example of how I envision the future development of the Francophonie: moving from political dialogue to on-the-ground collaboration among stakeholders, in order to create opportunities for young people. I would like to thank the National Council of Rectors of Romania and the universities that have mobilized for this project. Romania has a strong tradition of educating students from Africa, and this program allows us to increase our contribution to Africa's development,' stated Dacian Ciolos, as quoted in the press release.

The Romania-African Union academic mobility program will offer study opportunities at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels across 26 Romanian universities.

The cooperation focuses on developing skills in areas vital to the future of the African continent, such as science and technology, agriculture, medicine, climate change, and the green and digital transitions.

The scholarships will be funded through the own revenues of the participating universities. The selection of candidates will be carried out through cooperation between the African Union Commission, which will organize the preliminary selection, and Romanian universities, which will conduct the final selection.

The program aims to ensure a balanced geographical representation of African Union member states, as well as equal opportunities for women and men. It aligns with the objectives of the national strategy 'Romania - Africa: Partnership for the Future through Peace, Development, and Education' and contributes to strengthening academic, scientific, and human ties between Romania and African states, the cited source indicates.

In parallel, the National Council of Rectors will offer an additional 100 scholarships for Francophone countries in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania, with the involvement of the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest and the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest.

The Romania-African Union academic mobility program is to be implemented based on a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Council of Rectors of Romania and the African Union Commission, established for an initial five-year period, with the possibility of extension. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Andreea Rotaru; EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)