Windhoek
Over 1 000 Namibians have benefited from the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes in Namibia, Indian High Commissioner to Namibia Kumar Tuhin has revealed.
Tuhin was answering questions from New Era at a commemoration of the ITEC scheme at a hotel in the capital on Friday. The commemoration saw the Indian High Commissioner’s office awarding 20 air tickets to Namibian students scheduled to start their ITEC programme next month.
Tuhin said last year alone over 125 Namibian government officials and other beneficiaries were granted scholarships under the programme, which covers travel costs, tuition fees, accommodation and living allowance.
Apart from the scholarships for training and skills upgrading in India, ITEC has other components, such as the deputation of Indian experts abroad, aid for disaster relief and study tours.
Tuhin says a number of Indian experts are currently in Namibia to provide consultancy services and advise in a number of key areas of bilateral cooperation.
Currently there are three ITEC experts stationed in Namibia to help mitigate the ongoing drought situation. Also, he said his government has announced an aid package of 1 000 tonnes of rice, which is expected to be shipped to Namibia soon.
The ITEC programme is an expression of India’s solidarity with other developing countries and was started with the belief that developing countries could assist each other as they all traverse similar paths of development, the statement read.
The programme was instituted on September 15, 1964. It is India’s flagship programme for capacity building and symbolises India’s contribution and commitment to South-cooperation.
Under ITEC, over 10 000 professionals from over 160 countries are invited to select training institutions in India, where they not only imbibe India’s developmental experiences, but also interact with participants from other developing countries, thus leading to a unique sharing and exchange of ideas and knowledge.
The ITEC training courses cover a diverse range of topics, such as IT, public administration, entrepreneurship, rural development, parliamentary affairs, to name a few.