Guyana joined in celebrations of the 58th Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day which was celebrated by the High Commission of India on Tuesday at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Georgetown.
ITEC is a Government of India flagship program instituted on September 15, 1964, and has been a vehicle to share India’s vast and unique experience of growth and development through capacity building and training in a wide and diverse spectrum of skills.
Offering remarks at the event on Tuesday, High Commissioner of India, Dr. K.J. Srinivasa highlighted the genesis, its magnitude and global coverage of the ITEC programme which covers 161 countries, a release from the Indian High Commission stated.
“ITEC programme has created visible and growing awareness about the competence of India as provider of technical know-how and expertise as well as training opportunities, etc,” the release noted.
“It’s various aspects of the growing India-Guyana cooperation, especially in skills training and capacity building for Guyanese by the Government of India and deputation of ITEC experts in various sectors and deputation of specialists in the field of Sustainable Aquaculture Management and Development, fisheries expert for CARICOM, etc,” it added.
Sharing remarks, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, an alumni of the programme, highlighted its importance, particularly its “functionality” in the ever-changing education landscape, a release from the Office of the President noted.
President Ali emphasised that the Government of Guyana is “very grateful for this partnership with the Government of India”, including the opportunities provided by the ITEC programme, the release added.
The Head of State was an ITEC alumni from 2002-2003, during which he studied International Business Management at the All India Institute of Management Studies and a Masters Degree in Human Resource Planning in New Delhi.
So far more than 200,000 alumni across the world and over 650 Guyanese have undergone training under the Programme.
Five alumni of ITEC Defence training Courses, ICCR, Commonwealth and cultural scholarships, beneficiaries the Know India Programme, Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana and Indian Cultural Scholarship also shared their rich experience in India under these programmes.
The event was attended by over 200 persons including Senior officials of the Government of Guyana from various Ministries, Diplomatic Corps, ITEC alumni, media and other dignitaries.
