Sixty students at the National University of Timor-Leste have been awarded Chinese Ambassador Scholarships this year, the Chinese Embassy in Dili says.

The embassy announced in writing that the scholarships are meant to facilitate Sino-Timorese exchanges.

The announcement quotes Chinese Ambassador to Timor-Leste Xiao Jianguo as saying at the formal presentation that the scholarships are for outstanding Timorese belonging to low-income households.

Mr Xiao said over 200 Chinese Ambassador Scholarships had been awarded since 2006.

The announcement quotes National University of Timor-Leste Rector Francisco Miguel Martins as saying his university regards Sino-Timorese exchanges as important, and that he hopes the students will eventually contribute to the economic development of their country.

The Chinese Embassy in Dili took the opportunity to hand over to the university over 10,000 facemasks for countering the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the embassy announcement.