Kathmandu, 4 May : The Shaanxi Provincial Government of China has decided to present the “Three Qin Friendship Award” for the year 2022 to Nepali professor Dr Rajiv Kumar Jha.
The award is the highest award established by the provincial government to commend foreign experts who have made outstanding contribution to the economic and social development of Shaanxi.
The award is to be presented to various distinguished personalities from 10 countries including Jha. Other awardees are from the United States of America, the UK, Canada, Russia, Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Serbia.
The award is given to those foreign personalities in Shaanxi Province contributing to the sectors of economy, social, science and technology, health and culture in China and to the promotion of relations between China and the countries they represent.
The award which was presented every two years since 1999 is now awarded every year from 2015. According to Xi’an Medical University of China, the winners were selected among professors, researchers, medical professionals, scientists and entrepreneurs from different parts of the globe who are currently in Shaanxi.
Prof Dr Jha is with the University and is engaged in teaching and research projects. The provincial government in June of 2021 had called applications for the award through its website and Dr Jha was selected for the award among the short-listed candidates.
Jha is the first Nepali to win the award which was established in 1999. Prior to this, he had won the Xi’an Friendship Award- 2018 presented by the Xi’an Provincial Government.
The Xi’an provincial government has set up the ‘China Nepal Friendship Medical Research Centre of Professor Rajiv Kumar Jha’ in honour of Jha who is Ph D on reducing the impact of cancer of the gall bladder from a Chinese university and is presently teaching in Xi’an University after completing the post-Doc degree. Prof Jha is also a visiting professor at several universities in China.
The Centre based at Xi’an Medical University has been carrying out studies and research on oncology as well as organizing exchange of medical experiences between the two countries.
The Shaanxi provincial government of China has designated Prof Jha as the ‘Citizen Ambassador’ for playing a notable role in the promotion of China-Nepal relations as well as the envoy looking after all programmes related to the Chinese mega-project ‘One Belt, One Road’ to be operated in Nepal.
Prof Jha shared that the spokesperson of the Shaanxi province government has informed him that the Award would be presented to him by organizing a special ceremony after some months.
