22 March 2007
The government of India has expressed their intention to train more South
African youth as part of their Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation
(ITEC) Programme.
This emerged at a meeting between the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
Sibusiso Ndebele and the High Commissioner of India, his Excellency Mr Rajiv
Kumar Bhatia in Pietermaritzburg earlier today.
"There are already several South Africans who have been to India and have
been trained as part of the ITEC Programme. However we want to ensure that more
youth participate in this programme.
"Skills for South Africa are critical and the bilateral programmes take into
account the priorities of the South African government. This training is
conducted at some of India's top training institutions and programmes including
courses in Mathematics, Science and Accountancy are offered," said Bhatia.
Ndebele assured Bhatia that the KZN provincial government will definitely
take up this offer as so many South Africans are struggling to reach the
scientific stage.
"Three very important issues are technical training, information technology
and skills development. Therefore, we need to strengthen relations between the
people of India and the people of South Africa through forums such as a
Friendship Society between the people of both countries," said Ndebele.
"More than R7 billion will be invested in the province in infrastructure
development alone over the next 18 months. The linkage with Indian experience
and African business enterprise will solidify this partnership," Ndebele
said.
"India wants to develop cultural, economic, political and people to people
relations with South Africa. On the economic front, India is trying to bring
more Indian companies to South Africa; not only in terms of trade but also
skills development and technological advances. More business delegations from
KZN must come to India," said Bhatia.
"India is also in its second phase of a green relationship and therefore
co-operation in terms of KZN's agrarian revolution programme must also be
strengthened."
"We have to marry technology with traditional methods of agriculture because
the amount of land does not increase. Agricultural output in India has
increased from 50 million tons to 200 million tons," Bhatia said.
Ndebele concurred that agriculture is definitely a field where the two
countries must share expertise and experiences. "Land and unemployment is a
contradiction but agriculture is the answer. We must effectively utilise our
land to feed our families and then move towards a position where 60% of our
produce can be sold and 40% can be used for our personal needs," Ndebele
said.
Bhatia also commended Ndebele for his leadership and the many innovative
programmes that the KZN government has introduced.
Tomorrow (23 March 2007) Premier Ndebele will sign a memorandum of
understanding with the Premier of Queensland (Australia) at the Hilton hotel,
Durban at 11h00.
N.B. All journalists are kindly requested to confirm their attendance at
this event by no later than 20h00 today (22 March 2007) as per the contact
details listed below:
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Spokesperson to Premier Ndebele
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Cell: 083 644 4050
E-mail: maistryl@premier.kzntl.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
22 March 2007
