REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR ABHISHEK SINGH ON ITEC DAY ON 15 SEPTEMBER 2021.
Her Excellency Capaya Rodriguez
Hon’ble Vice Foreign Minister of Venezuela
Excellencies,
My dear ITEC alumni
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me, at the outset, welcome you to today’s celebrations of the ITEC Day in Caracas. I am particularly grateful to H.E. Capaya Rodriguez for her kind presence today.
2. Friends, as you are aware that we are celebrating 75 years of India’s independence and there are several events that the Embassy of India will be organizing in next 2 years to celebrate this great moment in our history. It is also the time when we share some of the important achievements of India in various fields.
Friends,
3. Guided by the philosophy of ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’ which means the world is one family, India has been in the forefront of capacity building programmes helping several countries across the world to build the capacity of their personnel. ITEC which stands for Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme was launched in 1964 andis a demand driven, response orientedprogramme which essentially focuses on the needs of the developing countries.
Friends,
4. The ITEC programme has benefited thousands of students and professionals from across the globe. ITEC covers various areas of training for civil and defence personnel covering a wide range of sectors like IT, language skill, banking, administration and scientific areas. ITEC is administered by the Development Partnership Administration Division of Ministry of External Affairs. Government of India bears all the expenses related to international air fare, boarding and lodging to selected students. Students and personnel from Venezuela have also been benefiting from the ITEC. I am told that there are over 200 ITEC alumni in Venezuela and today we are celebrating the inception of this important capacity building programme.
Friends,
5. We are extremely pleased that several of ITEC alumni have been able to attend today’s event. They are holding important positions in various walks of life. We, in fact, look forward to hearing from them about their experiences in India and their assessment about the training that they received in India. I am happy to share that several of ITEC alumni have earlier confided that the skills they have learnt through the ITEC programme have helped them in further enhancing their job efficiency in their respective jobs.
Excellency,
6. India and Venezuela have always shared friendly and cordial relations.Though our countries are separated by huge geographical distance but people to people connect is very close between our two countries. ITEC programmeis an important platform to further strengthen the bonds of friendship. The bilateral relations between India and Venezuela ismultifaceted and if you look at the items which we trade, you can see that it ranges from rice and cotton on one hand to crude oil and diesel on the other. We have been collaborating with the Government of Venezuela, with various organisations and most importantly the people of Venezuela to promote greater trade, greater cultural exchanges and in the end more people to people contacts.
Excellency,
7. COVID pandemic has disrupted economies and societies all over the world. It is true for Venezuela and India as well. We can see its impact on the ITEC as well.From in-person training in India, we have moved to e-ITEC. I can say with great satisfaction that e-ITEC courses have been extremely useful and I have no hesitation in saying that ITEC programmes which have stood the test of time, will continue to offer professional training for our ITEC partner countries like Venezuela, to further enhance skill and knowledge.
Friends,
8. One thing I have realized through my postings around the world that the network of ITEC alumni is truly global and long lasting. I know that even after completion of the courses, ITEC alumni remain in touch with each other and today’s celebration of ITEC day is an event to bring together the ITEC alumni so that they could re-engage with each other.
9. I am grateful to all the participants of the event today who despite COVID restrictions could come and join this celebration.
10. Finally, I would like to thank Hon’ble Vice Foreign Minister Capaya Rodriguez, who despite her very busy schedule could find time to grace this important event. Without any further ado, I have the privilege and honour to invite H.E. Capaya Rodriguez to kindly come up on stage and shareher thoughts on this important occasion.
Thank you.
