The Indian High Commission in Dhaka Thursday hosted a reception in the capital to celebrate the "57th Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day."

Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury graced the occasion as the chief guest and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami was also present.

ITEC, a flagship programme of India, was instituted in 1964 as part of the country's development assistance programme. Within this framework, India is offering the developing countries the benefit of its development experience and appropriate technologies.

Every year, more than 10,000 training slots are offered to 161 partner countries for training courses in areas such as accounts, audit, management, small and medium-sized business, rural development, and parliamentary affairs, according to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

Bangladesh is the foremost and valued partner under the ITEC Cooperation, it said.

Last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several courses were organised virtually under e-ITEC.

Some such courses were on themes of the women-centric programme, Covid management, good governance practices, data analytics, remote sensing, and adult hepatology in premier Indian Institutes.

More than 4,000 young Bangladeshi professionals have participated in such specialised short- and medium-term courses in India under the ITEC programme since 2007.

These training programmes provide an opportunity to share best Indian practices with the brightest minds in Bangladesh, said the high commission.

Also, India has been an equal beneficiary, learning from the developmental experiences of Bangladesh.

Around 100 ITEC alumni from all walks of life, among others, attended the ITEC Day.

The programme was organised on a limited scale, considering the ongoing pandemic restrictions.