Press Release
ITEC Day celebrated in High Commission
On 4 January 2022, High Commission of India in Brunei Darussalam organised a function to mark 57 years of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day. The event, organized under the MoH COVID related guidelines, was attended by around 40 guests representing the ITEC Alumni, members of Brunei Youth Association & trade chambers, faculty and students of UTB and UBD. Participants of ASEAN-India Youth Summit, ASEAN-India Online Hackathon as well as prominent members of the Indian Associations in Brunei also attended the event. The participants appreciated the content of the videos displayed during the programme which primarily focused on some of the recent capacity building capsules conducted under the ITEC Programme. Requests were received by the High Commission from a few participants to facilitate some special programmes, including those related to StartUps and MSME sector, for the benefit of the business community in Brunei.
ITEC, India’s most successful partnership cooperation programme, provides technical assistance, training/capacity building opportunities to partner countries in a range of fields including IT, banking, administration, audit, scientific to both civil and defence personnel. Normally, the ITEC Day is celebrated in September each year, it was decided to delay the commemoration last year due to Covid-19 induced restrictions in Brunei Darussalam.
Launched on 15 September 1964, ITEC is a demand driven programme with primary focus on capacity building needs of developing countries across the globe. Today, India offers 14000 scholarships every year. Government of India bears all the expenses related to international air fare, boarding and lodging in respect of the selected candidates. Under the programme, India offers training programmes for both civilian and defence personnel. New courses are also added to keep pace with the changes/advancements. Around 100 premier institutes conduct various short, medium and long term courses. In addition, on specific requests, tailor-made programmes are also facilitated. So far, more than two hundred thousand beneficiaries in 160 partner countries have taken advantage of various programmes offered by India under the ITEC programme. Even during the pandemic, India reached out to its partner countries through e-ITEC programmes. These are very useful programmes and have been applauded by all the participating countries.
So far, 51 Bruneian nationals have availed of the various programmes offered under ITEC. Of these 37 attended their selected programme in physical format in India and 14 officials of the Ministry of Development attended an online programme in October 2020. Bruneian nationals have also attended courses on Cyber Security and Unispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training (UNNATI) on nano-satellite building. Students and their mentors have participated in ASEAN-India Hackathon last year and had won prizes. In his address, the High Commissioner highlighted that the High Commission regularly shares details of upcoming ITEC training programme with the local authorities for their optimum utilisation. He urged the government to take full advantage of these courses, both online and in physical format, to upgrade skills of its workforce, which would positively contribute to the participants’ career progression and the overall growth and development of the organisation in line with the country’s National Vision 2035.
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Brunei Darussalam, 4 January 2022.
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