Welcome remarks by Ambassador at the ITEC Day reception (Bishkek; 2nd November, 2023; 6.30 pm)
Director of the Fourth Political Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic H.E. Mr. Maksat Tentimishov,
Acting Chief of the International Military Cooperation Department in the Ministry of Defence Colonel Kazbek Koshonov,
My dear ITEC Alumni,
Friends from the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening,
It gives me great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all of you to the celebration of the ITEC Day.
- ITEC is the acronym used for “Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation” Programme launched by the Government of India on 15 September, 1964. Consequently, ITEC Day is celebrated on 15 September every year. This flagship capacity building programme of the Government of India is thus completing 60 years of its existence and is being steered by the Ministry of External Affairs. ITEC today covers 160 countries and has contributed to the capacity enhancement of more than 200,000 professionals since its inception. This is also a leading programme in the capacity building initiatives of the South-South Cooperation.
- An important element of the foreign policy of India has been development cooperation which flows from the historical and economic linkages of India with the global south, including the Kyrgyz Republic. Through this initiative, India has been sharing its development experiences with other countries based on the philosophy of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam” which means that the world in one family. It is also guided by the requirements of the recipient countries. The focus of India has always been on Capacity Building and Resources Development.
- Apart from providing capacity building training programmes in the traditional areas of governance, ITEC has been expanded to include emerging areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), nano-technology, forensics and cyber security. ITEC now enables participating professionals to access programmes and registrations using a dedicated online portal and provides its training content through reputed partner institutions both in the government and private sectors.
- In addition to the physical/in-person training, ITEC content for civilians is also delivered through three other broad channels. The e-ITEC channel provides online, real-time training delivered by Indian Institutes to professionals located in partner countries. The ITEC Onsite channel provides customized content to our partner countries by shifting the training to the country itself by deputing training professionals for short duration. The content for these programmes focuses on the requirements of our partner countries in sector-specific training. The ITEC Executive is the third channel, which is an exclusive programme for senior level functionaries and policy makers in our partner countries; this channel delivers content through the medium of conferences, workshops and study visits which provide an understanding of practices and systems in India.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
- The intense ITEC partnership between India and the Kyrgyz Republic has been continuing for more than thirty years with focus being given to institutionalized capacity building of civil servants and defence personnel. We are extremely encouraged by the enthusiastic response that we have received from the participants here in the ITEC courses. Government of India is now offering 100 ITEC slots to the Kyrgyz Republic every year. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the ITEC alumni here is more than 1,500 and the number continues to grow.
- More than 100 officers from the Kyrgyz Republic have attended various military courses in India under the Defence ITEC programmes in the last two decades. The canvas of the courses reflects focused academic and physical training for Young Officers, shaping the middle rung officers for both staff and command assignments and preparing the senior level officers for the appointments in the higher defence echelons of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- In addition, country specific special courses are also conducted from time to time based on requests received from other governments. These courses are for specific capacity building requirements. We were happy to organize a special programme “Preparation of Investment Projects” in January this year especially for the civil servants of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Friends,
- We are extremely happy that several ITEC alumni have been able to join us today evening. The ITEC Day gives us an opportunity to re-connect with all of you. We are looking forward to hearing from some of you about your experiences of attending ITEC training programmes in India. It is significant that over the years, the ITEC alumni in the Kyrgyz Republic has become a powerful catalyst in forging stronger ties between our two countries. We wish you every success in your career and in all your future endeavours.
Thank you all for joining us today.
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