H.E. Narinder Chauhan, Ambassador of India hosted a reception in Belgrade on 13th February 2017 to mark the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day.
H.E. Ivana Stojiljković, Member of Parliament and the President of India-Serbia Parliamentary Friendship Group was the Guest of Honour. Zoran Mihajlović, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Health, Nenad Miloradović, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Defence and Aleksandar Janković, Head of the Department for Asia, Australia and the Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented the Government of the Republic of Serbia on the occasion. A large number of ITEC Alumni attended the Reception.
In her welcome remarks, Ambassador gave an overview of the ITEC programme, stressing that it was an important pillar of bilateral cooperation with Serbia. Ambassador also informed the gathering about the recent visit of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić to India to attend Vibrant Gujarat Global Economic Summit and the discussion held with Indian leadership and the business community. The celebration also included a screening of the documentary film “A Day in the Life of India”.
Under the ITEC Programme, nationals of friendly countries are imparted training in various fields, on a fully funded basis. There are nearly 50 empanelled institutions conducting 300 courses during the year. ITEC Training empowers the scholars with not just professional skills but also helps in preparing them for an increasingly globalized world.
Serbia has been India’s ITEC partner since 2008 and so far 140 scholars from Serbia have been imparted training on a wide and diverse range of skills and disciplines, including in ICT, Expenditure Management, Entrepreneurship, WTO, Banking & Finance, Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Legislative Drafting, Yoga, English proficiency, etc. Scholars who have undergone training under ITEC come from various fields of Serbian society, including both from Government and the private sector. The Serbian institutions have shown a great interest and enthusiasm towards ITEC training courses and the feedback received from the trainees is encouraging.
