12 Aug 2018

 India High Commissioner to Botswana, Dr Rajesh Ranjan has commended the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) for its positive impact in improving the livelihoods of Batswana.

Officiating at the celebration of the ITEC day on August 11, Dr Ranjan said the significance of ITEC programme had been reflected by the number of participants it continued to attract since its inception over the last five years.

He said the ITEC programme, which was a flagship programme of the government of India had benefitted more than 550 Batswana participants who had all contributed to Botswana’s economy had benefited from the programme over the past five years.

He said the 550 had all benefitted from the knowledge and experience they gained in India as the ITEC programme continued to prove its usefulness in contributing positively to the development, progress and prosperity of Botswana.

Botswana-India partnership, he said was an important pillar of India’s foreign policy and approach of inter-state relations.  The main aspects of cooperation between the two countries, he said  was capacity building which focused on enhancing the local capacity and local opportunities for Botswana talents and skills in a wide range of specialised areas such as public sector administration, banking, finance, entrepreneurship, women empowerment and ICT.

He noted that India would harness its experience with digital revolution to support Botswana’s development and improve its delivery of public services, extend education and health as well as spread digital literacy and expand financial inclusion.

 He said India  was committed to share with Botswana its technologies, academic knowledge and other expertise to assist Botswana on its march to national development.

Further, Dr Ranjan said India would keep its market open and make it easier and more attractive for Botswana to trade with India as well as encourage Indian investors to come do business in Botswana.

 ITEC alumina Mr Marvin Motlhabane appreciated the programme highlighting that it was focused on addressing many needs of developing countries through innovative technological cooperation between India and developing countries. ENDS