By Paras Ramoutar,
Port-of-Spain : India’s High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Gauri Shankar Gupta announced that a team of technical officials from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) will visit India next month to look at ways to improve this Caribbean nation’s water system.
Gupta made the announcement at the celebration of India’s Technical and Economic Co-operation (ITEC) at Federation Park here Friday night. The team will be visiting India as part of an ITEC programme.
He said that since 1965 as many as 500 citizens of Trinidad and Tobago have benefited from ITEC’s programme, which has now become a brand name in 161 countries and over 200,000 nationals have participated in the various technical, educational and infrastructural courses.
“ITEC has now become an international brand name for India,” he said, adding that scores of participants have become prime ministers, cabinet ministers and even a governor general.
“ITEC continues to bridge the gap between India and the globe as it has now become India’s showpiece to share its strong technical expertise with the rest of the world,” Gupta told guests.
Scores of developing countries have benefited and continue to benefit in ways to improve their technical and economic capacities, he said.
Gupta said that in recent years India experts have visited the island nation to assist in improving both rice cultivation and the coconut industry.
President of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC), Deokienanan Sharma, its vice-president, Joe Ramkissoon, and president of the India Alumni Association, Sat Balkaransingh, were also present at the meet.
Recent graduates of ITEC, Sunil Rishi Noubutt, Larry Vijay Ramphall and Nadiya Dharamsingh, praised the opportunities offered to them with regard to further training.
(Paras Ramoutar can be contacted at [email protected])