Speech by Mr. R.K. Bhatia, High Commissioner of India, at ITEC Day 2009 (Durban : March 28, 2009) 1. I am deeply grateful to the Durban University of Technology and our Consulate General in Durban for the initiative they have taken to organize and host this event. This is the third occasion we celebrate ITEC Day in Durban. This fact alone reflects the high importance attached by us to the province of KZN as well as the interest the latter has taken in ITEC-related activities. 2. In April 2008, the Government of India hosted, for the first time, the India-Africa Forum Summit. It was a specially-designed initiative and endeavour in order to strengthen and reinvigorate the Africa-India partnership. The Delhi Declaration issued at the end of the Summit cited the cooperation between Africa and India as “a useful example of South-South cooperation.” In the related document, namely, ‘Africa-India Framework for Cooperation’, a number of priority areas for future cooperation were identified. One of them was deepening the impact of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes with a sharper focus on science, technology and information technology-related courses. Before I share with you the progress secured in implementing the decisions of Delhi Summit, I should recall a few key aspects of the ITEC programme. 3. In simple words, ITEC is about cooperation and partnership for mutual benefit. It is response-oriented and it addresses the needs of developing countries. It was launched in 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance of the Government of India. Under ITEC and its related programme, namely, Special Commonwealth Assistance for Africa Programme (SCAAP), a huge number of countries in Asia, East Europe, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America, have been able to share in the India’s developmental experience, acquired over the past six decades of India’s existence as a free nation. 4. India spends about Rs. 500 million annually on ITEC activities. Since 1964, India has provided over USD 2 billion worth of technical assistance to developing countries, including our neighbouring countries. 5. Among various beneficiaries, Africa is today the largest recipient of India’s ITEC programme. We believe this is how it should be, because India is fortunate to enjoy long-standing and warm links of brotherhood and affinity with the African continent. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, India’s External Affairs Minister, observed at the 4th India-Africa Project Partnership Conclave on March 21, 2008: “The waters of the Indian Ocean unite us. Indian traders and seafarers reached the shores of Africa centuries ago and made Africa their home.” Since then, Africa and India have worked together on a whole range of ideas and projects under our enlightened leadership. 6. In the above backdrop, I am pleased to note that allocation of ITEC fellowships to South Africa has been steadily on increase. The number of fellowships allotted has gone up from 75 in 2005-06 to 110 in 2007-08, an increase of 46%. The last increase came as part of our implementing the decisions of the Delhi Summit, mentioned earlier. These fellowships are fully financed by the Government of India. They cover short and medium-term training programmes in various prestigious institutions in India. For the year 2008-09 and the year 2009-10, our Ministry of External Affairs has been offering about 200 training courses, covering a wide spectrum of fields and disciplines at 43 reputed institutions, empanelled under this Programme, to over 5000 participants from 158 ITEC-partner countries. Details of the Programme and the courses available can be looked at the ITEC website http://itec.nic.in. 7. In the past two years, we have noticed growing interest and curiosity about training programmes under ITEC. However, it is somewhat regrettable that allocations available have not been fully utilized. There is a need for interested institutions and individuals in South Africa to make an enhanced effort to benefit from what is available. It should be stressed that employees and officials in Government, public and private sector, parastatals, universities and chambers of commerce and industry, are eligible to these fellowships. Having noted the popularity of the training programmes in this region, we have arranged that our Consulate General in Durban would be the focal point for processing requests in future. Thus, not merely all relevant information, application forms, etc. have been made available on the website, even the office which is responsible for implementing the programme is located in this town. We encourage all of you and others to draw suitable lessons from these arrangements. 8. It may also be apt to mention that, in pursuance of decisions at the Delhi Summit, our Government has been discussing the contours of India-Africa Action Plan with the African Union Commission, which, in turn, is engaged in working out modalities of implementation with African governments. This Plan will help in utilizing a large sum of USD 500 million that has been set aside for capacity-building programmes across Africa. This programme naturally would be applicable to South Africa too. 9. I fondly recall our interaction with a number of ITEC alumni at ITEC Day 2007 celebration hosted by our Consul General in Durban. I remember how one beneficiary of the programme said: “I’ve learnt more from the course than I ever thought I would.” Another stated: “I definitely returned home with something valuable – memories of this most beautiful country (i.e. India) as well as my Microsoft Certified- Systems Certificate. I feel so proud of myself because I learned so many things that were unclear to me before, about the Information Technology field.” 10. I was very interested to hear the views of Mr. Silvester Siboto, who has just returned from an ITEC course and spoke to us behalf of the ITEC trainees. I also look forward to the opportunity of interacting with and listening to some of the latest alumni of ITEC training programmes later today. 11. Once again, I express our gratitude to the hosts and I thank you all for your presence and attention.