Colombia and China sign memorandum of understanding to increase training scholarships
Photo: Agencia Presidencial de Cooperación Internacional de Colombia.
According to an official statement from the Colombian government, on June 16, 2025, the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia) and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to increase the number of training scholarships offered by the Asian country to the Colombian population.
On Colombia’s side, the signing of the memorandum was attended by Eleonora Betancur González, Director General of APC Colombia. Representing China was Zhu Jingyang, the Asian country’s ambassador to the Latin American nation.
It is known that, with this new memorandum of understanding, the annual offer of training scholarships for Colombian civilians and public officials will increase by more than 100%, going from 150 to over 300 scholarships in total. The goal is to train Colombian nationals in various fields in the Asian country, thereby strengthening the technical capacities of those who access the programs.
Specifically, the Director General of APC Colombia stated that, thanks “to the signing of this memorandum, we will go from having an average of 150 annual scholarships to having access to more than 300 training opportunities offered by the Chinese government to Colombian officials and citizens.”
In addition, Director Eleonora Betancur highlighted that during the previous year, 2024, out of the 1,500 people who applied to attend one of the high-level seminars offered by the People’s Republic of China, at least 205 were able to participate and complete them.
For his part, Zhu Jingyang, the Chinese ambassador to Colombia, stated that for the Asian country, training in human resources is of great importance, as it is a priority area of bilateral cooperation. Therefore, the increase in scholarships will contribute to the development of relations between the two nations.
He also reported that a bilateral training course is currently being launched for members of the National Police on the topic of custody and protection of authorities—an important decision now that the country is entering a new campaign period. As such, the first beneficiaries of these scholarships would be uniformed officers of the National Police of Colombia, helping to enhance their operational capabilities.
According to the Colombian government’s statement, the signing of this memorandum of understanding is the result of sustained and horizontal bilateral cooperation over time, based on mutual trust between the two nations—trust built in part through APC Colombia’s efforts to strengthen relations with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.
Additionally, it was noted that with this new agreement, the two nations reaffirm a bilateral cooperation focused on visible results, mutual knowledge transfer, sustainable development, and the strengthening of human talent as a key factor for progress.
Last but not least, the Director of APC Colombia emphasized that this bilateral relationship not only creates new opportunities for both nations, but also contributes to the development of a fairer multilateralism in which the Global South must play a key role—further promoting the principles of South-South cooperation.
Main Source:
Colombia y China firman acuerdo para duplicar becas de formación – Agencia Presidencial de Cooperación Internacional
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