4th Right,Honourable Minster Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu(CON) flanked by India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Shir G. Balasubramanian and other Participants during the 2023 Itec day in Abuja .
PRESS RELEASE
Senator Abubakar Bagudu Congratulates Indian government for a successful G-20 meeting.
The Honorable Minister for Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (CON) has congratulated the Indian Government for the successful hosting of the G-20 meeting which was just concluded in New Delhi last week.
He said that Indian has taken a good step that every indigene of the Country should be proud of, revealing that the outcome of the meeting portends hope of great economic exploits for not just the Indians but other Countries of the World.
He spoke at Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day 2023, organized by High Commission of Indian, Abuja, Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.
He noted that the presence of Nigeria President, Senator Bola Tinubu at the event, four days ahead of the commencement of the event, underscored the importance which Nigeria ascribed to its relationship with India.
Bagudu noted that President Tinubu leveraged on the G20 Meeting to also meet with business communities and business leaders from various countries, assuring that the meeting will translate into different investment opportunities for the Country.
He added that the Meeting served as an avenue to strengthen the already existing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and India while also celebrating India technical and economic cooperation with other countries of the world.
In his words: “ We have a lot to learn and share with India. The Technical and economic assistance Nigeria has benefited from India and what have been done to achieve growth rate consistently for close to a decade despite the huge population and challenges needs to be understudied".
Earlier, the India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Shri G.Balasubramanian extended his sincere appreciation to the Nigerian Government, ECOWAS and all the partnering Organization for their continued support and participation in the last G20 Summit and the involvement of African countries in Indian’s ITEC programme.
He described the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, (ITEC) , as the leading capacity building platform of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
He said that the ITEC programme is fully funded by the Government of India. ‘All expenses related to training programmes such as course fees, living allowance, book allowance, study tours, emergency medical assistance as well as return air fares are paid by the Government of India.
Shri explained that Nigeria, Benin and ECOWAS has been a proud beneficiary of ITEC programs which has sectors in Information Technology, Agriculture, Health Care and many more.
He further explained that the Knowledge and Skills acquired through ITEC has not only enhanced the beneficiaries but has also contributed to the development and progress of their host Countries.
In his address, Shri announced that an Indian expert will be coming in October to stay in Nigeria for 6months to train the trainers in the aspect of small and medium Enterprise also in development partnership. This, according to him, will help to train more people.
He further stated that the recently concluded G20 summit brought the world together on wide range of issues i.e. economics, geopolitics or technology which was an outstanding event, that had in attendance world leaders including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
OLUDE OMOLADE (PIO),
FOR: DIRECTOR INFORMATION (BEP),
16/09/2023.