Celebration of ITEC Day 2014

1. Embassy of India is pleased to announce the celebration of Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day in Belgrade on 21st February 2014 at Hotel Hyatt, Belgrade to honour the Serbia ITEC Alumni and to celebrate the success of India-Serbia collaboration in various fields under the ITEC Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

2. Under the ITEC Programme, nationals of friendly countries are imparted short term training in various Technical and Vocational fields. There are 47 empanelled institutions conducting 280 short-term, medium-term and long-term courses during the year. The training programme is demand-driven and subjects selected are of interest to receiving countries for their working professionals on a wide and diverse range of skills and disciplines. ITEC Training empowers the scholars with not just professional skills, but also helps in preparing them for an increasingly globalized world. Government of India has spent billions of dollars on this programme since its inception in 1964. In 2013-14, 8280 slots have been allocated to ITEC/SCAAP partner countries to attend the various training courses in India.

3. ITEC Programme was extended to Serbia in 2009 and so far more than 80 scholars from Serbia have been imparted training under the Programme in such diverse fields like proficiency in English & IT skill, Entrepreneurship Development, Development of ICT Skills, Public Expenditure Management, Business Research Methods & Data Analysis, Training Programme on Bio Energy, Climate Change & Sustainability, Textile Mill Management, Social Entrepreneurship, Banking & Finance, Special Courses on Leadership in Postal Sector, Decentralised Energy Solutions, Management courses for senior level executives, Wireless networking, MPLS Technologies, Mobile Communication Technologies, Operation Management, Public Service delivery leadership, Rural Development, Gender Issues in Labour, Asset Liability Management, Telemedicine, Cluster Development Executives, Next Generation Network Technologies & Future Trends, Geographic Information System, Consultancy Services for Small & Medium Enterprises, Web Application courses etc. In Addition, training is also made available in special courses on WTO issues like Agriculture Services, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) & Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) etc. Till date 9 middle and senior level Government officials have been trained in WTO related courses.

4. Scholars who have undergone training under ITEC come from various fields of Serbian society from middle level/senior Government officials to Post Masters, from Senior Advisors to Desk Officers in various Government Departments, from Advisors in Chambers of Commerce to Bankers. Though the list is dominated by Government officials, professionals in private enterprises also form part of the ITEC Alumni.

5. The philosophy of ITEC is equal partnership and sharing of development models. As Serbia follows a European path today and tackles its economic reforms in the midst of global and regional economic crisis, India’s experience of development and economic reforms is available to Serbia and ITEC can play an important role in sharing India’s experience. The Serbian institutions have shown a great interest and enthusiasm towards ITEC training courses and the feedback received from the trainees is encouraging.

6. Apart from ITEC, Government of India also offers to Serbia scholarships/training in the fields of Culture with 24 scholarship Schemes covering over 135 countries and training in the field of Defence including training in the prestigious National Defence College, Delhi. The Foreign Service Institute of India also provides training to middle level Diplomats through the Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats (PCFD) with training modules on International Relations, International Law, International Organizations, International Trade, Defense and Security, Protocol, Communication and Negotiation Skills, Terrorism, Human Rights, Climate Change, Energy, Economics etc.

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Place: Belgrade

Date: 17 February, 2014