'ITEC,ICCR scholarships play vital role in exchange of skills'

Egyptian officials who have received training in India under various scholarship programmes have come back and contributed to Egypt's economy and society, the Indian envoy here said today and underlined the importance of exchange of skills in deepening bilateral ties.
The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day was celebrated at the Indian Embassy in Zamalek today, an event which was attended by a large number of Egyptian government and military officials along with other nationals who have been trained in India in various courses organised under the ITEC Programme as well as ICCR Scholarships.
India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya said that ITEC and ICCR Scholarships play a vital role in exchange of experiences and skills relevant for developing countries, build personal bonds and provide a template of innovation and progress.

The envoy expressed satisfaction that Egyptian ITEC Scholars had come back after their training in India to contribute to their economy and society and that India had been able to increase the available slots over time.
Mona Ahmed, Under Secretary in Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation, noted that Egypt highly values its cooperation with India and its contribution to the building of relations.
The Egyptian Armed Forces, who also avail of ITEC programme, also expressed happiness with the exchanges in updating skills and building bonds.

Nearly 740 Egyptian government officials, military officers and scholars have attended various short-term and long-term training courses in the last few years under the ITEC and related programmes.

The Indian government is offering 110 ITEC slots to Egyptian nationals on a yearly basis.
In addition, Egyptian scholars who travelled to India on the C V Raman Fellowship, India-Africa Forum Summit training programme as well as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships also attended the ITEC Day Reception.
These scholarships are offered for graduate, post graduate and doctoral studies in both the sciences and the arts.
The Embassy has set up social media connections through Facebook and WhatsApp groups to bring the alumni together and to generate discussion about future cooperation activities.
Launched in 1964, as a programme of cooperation and partnership from India to address the needs of friendly countries, including in the human resources development, the ITEC Programme is an important component of India's economic relations with Egypt.

Under this programme of cooperation and partnership, India shares its technical expertise with Egypt.
The ITEC Scheme offers training in over 280 courses in 47 prestigious educational, technical and vocational institutes in India in a variety of fields ranging from information technology, management, vocational training, rural development, banking, finance and auditing among others.