TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – For the first time, more than 200 students from Vietnam and Laos applied for scholarships to study in Taiwan, reports said Friday (Aug. 2).

Taiwan’s representative office in Vietnam handed scholarships to 51 students from the Southeast Asian countries Friday, per CNA. Since 75% of the applicants were unable to receive funding, officials said they would ask the Ministry of Education (MOE) for an increase in the number of scholarships.

The 49 Vietnamese and two Laotian scholarship recipients also attended a seminar about visa regulations and student life in Taiwan. Of the 400,000 Vietnamese in Taiwan, 27,000 are students, meaning the new students will not be lonely, officials said.

The presence of investors and tourists from Taiwan is popular in Vietnam, while the cost of education in Taiwan is seen as reasonable. As a result, the number of students applying for scholarships has doubled over the past few years.

Both Vietnam and Laos were on the list of 18 New Southbound Policy countries named by Taiwan in 2016 to promote closer ties in wide range of domains, including education.