‘Sky is the limit’ for India-Jordan ties — investment commission chief

AMMAN— The “sky is the limit” for the Kingdom’s cooperation with India, a Jordanian official said on Thursday at an event to mark Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day.

The ITEC programme has played a key role in building the capacity of Jordanian human resources in various fields, said Thabet Elwir, chief of the Jordan Investment Commission. 

“India is one of the most important trade partners for Jordan. The sky is the limit for the level of cooperation with India,” he added.  

Through the ITEC programme, India shares its experience in economic development, manpower, skills and technology with 161 partner countries, including Jordan, through training programmes and courses, the Indian embassy in Amman said in a statement.  

Elwir said that training is “a major handicap in Jordan”, and that the ITEC programme provides valuable assistance to the Kingdom. 

University of Jordan President Azmi Mahafzah echoed Elwir’s remarks, and highlighted India’s major investments in the Kingdom in various fields, including fertilisers, and the thriving bilateral relations between the countries.  

In the field of higher education, Mahafzah said, cooperation is growing and there are some 2,500 Jordanians pursuing their higher education in India.

“There is an increased interest between universities in both countries to boost cooperation…The ITEC programme has helped in meeting Jordan’s needs and objectives for capacity building,” he added.

Rula Wardeh, who took a training course in India under the ITEC programme, said she learned “very important” skills.

“I received a whole month of training in yoga in India at a prominent university in Bangalore. The training was great and it helped me improve my skills a lot,” said Wardeh, who attended the event along with other graduates of ITEC programmes. 

India’s Ambassador to Jordan Shubhdarshini Tripathi said that capacity building and skills development were part of India’s cooperation with the Kingdom, and that India was committed to further strengthening its close partnership with the people of Jordan. 

The ITEC programme is an avenue to strengthen contact between the citizens of Jordan and India, and build on the existing goodwill towards India in Jordan, the ambassador said. 

India launched the programme in 1964 “in the spirit of south-south cooperation”, the embassy statement said. 

Specialist training courses are arranged at the request of partner countries, the embassy said, noting that the ITEC programme has evolved over the years to cover wider geographical areas as well as more diverse sectors, from defence to disaster relief. 

Following the visit of India’s president to Jordan in 2015, the Indian government increased the number of training places available to Jordanians to 50. 

Additionally, scholarships are available for Jordanians to study in India under various schemes, the statement added.