Students Benefit From Fiji-Georgia Collaboration

Strengthened diplomatic ties between Fiji and Georgia has created lifetime opportuni­ties and transformed the lives of six young Fijian students.

The students recently acquired their qualifications as trained med­ical officers at Tbilisi State Medical University after six years of study.

The first batch of students award­ed with Georgian scholarships returned home to Fiji earlier this month, saying they were looking forward to serving and contribut­ing towards the advancement of Fiji’s health services.

The students shared their experi­ences during a meeting with Minis­ter for Defence, National Security and Foreign Affairs Inia Seruiratu and the Georgian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Kh­vtisiashvili, at the official signing of the Visa Free Agreement be­tween Fiji and Georgia at the Min­istry of Foreign Affairs headquar­ters in Suva yesterday.

The students have expressed their sincere appreciation towards the Fijian and Georgian collaboration that has resulted in the provision of scholarships for Fijian students.

Rodnishwar Prasad, a 27-year-old from Nausori, was among the six Fijian students who left Fiji to study in Georgia in 2013.

He said the support given at the Tbilisi State Medical University and the kind hospitality of the Georgian communities touched their hearts.

Like every other foreign student, while they had challenges to adapt to a new environment, the respect and care they received made them feel at home and enabled them to embrace the Georgian culture and language.

“Since the time, I was in primary school, I aimed to become a doctor and that dream has been achieved through the assistance provided by the Fiji and Georgia partnership,” Mr Prasad said.

“We are ready to serve our own country, but the wonderful memo­ries we gained during our stay at Georgia will remain in our hearts forever.”

Similarly, Ms Katrina Shute who hails from Savusavu, expressed sincere gratitude to the Fijian and Georgian officials who have been instrumental in organising the scholarships for Fijian students.

She described her experience as enriching.

It enabled the medical students to not only develop their compe­tency and expertise as medical of­ficers, but also to interact and get firsthand experience in terms of patient care and modern medical services.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs