India, Trinidad and Tobago celebrate 60 years of training co-operation

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WORKING TOGETHER: From left, Public Administration Minister Allyson West, Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh, India's High Commissioner to TT Dr Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit and Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne at the High Commission's commemoration ceremony marking 60 years of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Cultural Cooperation in Mt Hope on November 13. - Photo courtesy the Indian High Commission

THE Indian High Commission held an event on November 13 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne was the chief guest of honour at the event held at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation in Mt Hope, a release from the commission said.

The Indian Government allocates 85 ITEC slots annually for TT government officials for a wide range of short-term training courses fully funded by India.

Public Administration Minister Allyson West, Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh, Public Administration Ministry Permanent Secretary Claudelle Mc Kellar, senior officials from both the Foreign and Caricom Affairs and Public Administration ministries, local ITEC alumni and past participants of Know India Programme (KIP) were also present.

The High Commission of India offers fully-funded slots for training in India to nominees from Trinidad and Tobago, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada and Montserrat.

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The programme brings officials of both sides together, sharing India’s technical know-how and skills, affording an opportunity for networking, and provides exposure to the fast transforming India as a reliable partner, especially to the Global South, in capacity building and thus contributing to improved productivity towards development and growth of partner countries.

ITEC is Government of India’s flagship capacity building initiative. It has been in operation since September 15, 1964 with friendly partner countries in the developing world.

ITEC offers more than 12,000 slots in more than 300 training courses covering diverse areas at the premium Indian institutions of learning.

The TT Government actively and regularly avails itself of the training slots offered. The countries of concurrent accreditation of the High Commission of India, namely Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada and Montserrat, have also been regularly availing of training slots.

The website www.itecgoi.in provides more details on the programme.