KATHMANDU: Indian embassy today organised a reception for the Nepali nationals participating at a programme — Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) — in the capital.

Beginning 2000 uptil now, some 310 participants from Nepal have benefited from attending short-term professional course under the ITEC.

Addressing the reception, Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala lauded India’s contribution in advancing the human resources. Minister Koirala further added,”We are grateful to India because many Nepali students benefited from this program. “

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood said that India would continue to help Nepalese to get their training that would help in the generation of efficient human resources.

ITEC was launched in 1964 as a bilateral programme with the assistance from the Government of India.

In the reception, participants shared their experiences. Participants were drawn both from India and Nepal. Also, private and public sectors received their training, under the ITEC programme, from some of the reputed institutions in India.

Training areas included among other things, computers, engineering,

journalism, banking, legislation, power, remote sensing, work force research, education, and empowerment of the women.

ITEC is about cooperation and partnership for mutual benefit. It is response oriented and it addresses the needs of the developing countries, Indian embassy said, in a statement.

According to the Indian embassy, they would spend about Rs 500 million annually on ITEC activities.