Staff Reporter:
The Indian high commission in Dhaka has celebrated Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day in collaboration with the ITEC Alumni Association of Bangladesh (IAAB) in the capital on Tuesday evening.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma hosted the event while agriculture minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque was present as the chief guest, a press release said.
Addressing the event, High Commissioner Verma said, as one of India’s closest development partner, Bangladesh occupies an important place in the ITEC program.
He noted that while Bangladesh is a recipient of 500 dedicated slots for ITEC every year under the Sub-orno Jayanti Scholarships, there are several tailor-made programs for civil servants and private enter-prises which are being organized as per the requirement of the government of Bangladesh.
The envoy stressed that the ITEC alumni in Bangladesh showcased the strong bonds of friendship be-tween India and Bangladesh.
Around 180 ITEC alumni from all walks of life, besides distinguished guests, attended the event. Some of the distinguished ITEC alumni also shared their training experiences with the audience. A small cul-tural event culminated the program.
ITEC, a flagship program of the Indian government was instituted in 1964 as part of India’s Develop-ment Assistance Program.
It has been offering the benefit of India’s development experience and technological progress to more than 160 countries across the globe.
Every year, more than 10,000 training slots are offered to ITEC partner countries for training courses in premier Indian Institutes in various areas like Agriculture, Accounts, Audit, Good Governance Practices, Management, Small and Medium Enterprises, Rural Development, Public Health, Parliamentary Affairs, Judiciary, Election Management, IT, Data Analytics, Remote Sensing and Renewable Energy.
Till date, more than 5,000 young Bangladeshi professionals have undergone such courses in India under the ITEC programs.
Bangladesh is one of the most valued partners of India under the ITEC Cooperation, said the high com-mission.