The
Embassy of India organised a function to mark 58 glorious years of the
Indian Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme. Koffi N’Guessan,
Minister of Technical Education, Vocational Training &
Apprenticeship was the Chief Guest. Around 110 ITEC Alumni, attended the
event.
Launched
on 15 September 1964, ITEC is a Government of India’s flagship
programme aimed at sharing India’s own development experiences with
fellow developing countries on the basis of partnership and cooperation
for mutual benefit. It is a demand driven programme with primary focus
on capacity building targeted towards skill development and
professionalism of the trainees in their respective fields of activity. Today, the ITEC programme proudly claims to have reached out to more than 200,000 beneficiaries in 160 partner countries.
ITEC,
provides technical assistance, training/capacity building opportunities
to partner countries in a range of fields including IT, banking,
administration, audit, scientific to both civil and defence personnel.
New courses are also added to keep pace with the changes and
technological advancements in various fields. Even during the pandemic,
India reached out to its partner countries through e-ITEC programmes
(Online training programmes).
In
his address, the Ambassador Sailas Thangal remarks that Development
cooperation has always played a central role in India’s foreign policy.
He highlighted that the Embassy of India regularly shares details of
upcoming ITEC training programmes with the local authorities for their
optimum utilization. He said government of India provides 100 ITEC slots
to Ivorian every year and urged the Ivorian government to take full
advantage of these courses, both online and in physical format, to
upgrade skills of its workforce, which would positively contribute to
the participants’ career progression and the overall growth and
development of the organization in line with the country’s National
Vision 2030.
Addressing
the gathering Minister, HE Koffi N’Guessan, expressed deep
appreciations of the government of Cote d’Ivoire to the Government of
India for their generosity and readiness to share India’s developmental
experiences. He also encouraged Ivorian officials and media personnel
present on the occasion to spread the info about these training
opportunities so that more Ivorian can participate to enhance their
skill and positively contribute to the nation building process.
The event concluded with a light refreshment arranged by the Embassy of India.
Abidjan
23 September 2022.
