By : Nedal Zubeidi
Jordan Daily – The Indian Embassy in Jordan hosted a special event on Wednesday to mark ITEC Engagement Day and an Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan, bringing together alumni, government officials, and key stakeholders to underscore the growing collaboration between India and Jordan.
Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Manish Chauhan, addressed the gathering, highlighting the important role played by the alumni of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program and the deep ties between the two countries.
“I’m so happy to be with you today because together all of you are the pillars, the base on which we, as the Embassy, work,” Chauhan said. “Whether sitting here in Amman or New Delhi, all of us come from all of you to provide us with the support. You do the work; we support you.”
He stressed the importance of the personal connections made by Jordanian alumni and professionals during their time in India. “Through your travels, through your interaction, through your ideas, through simply talking about each other, you spread the message of goodwill and friendship. Every word of friendship, every word of support, every word of compassion matters, and we are very grateful for all of you,” Chauhan added.
The ambassador also expressed appreciation for the support provided by Jordanian ministries and institutions. “We are also grateful to our colleagues from the ministries, being the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Foreign Ministry, the universities, academia, journalists, for all the support that you provide to us in carrying the message of friendship and goodwill forward.”
Chauhan, who presented his credentials to King Abdullah II seven months ago, reflected on his conversation with the King. “When I presented my credentials to His Majesty the King, he was very, very pleased that we take this friendship forward,” he said. “That has been the message that I have brought from my leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi .”
He emphasized that the potential for India-Jordan cooperation is limitless. “There is no limit to the cooperation and the support that we can provide to each other. There is much that we have done together, but the potential is for much, much more.”
Dr. Faisal Al-Rfou, President of the Jordan-India Friendship Association (JIFA), echoed the ambassador’s sentiments, noting the longstanding ties between the two countries, which began in 1950.
“ In the beginning of 1950, Jordan and India started and established their historical and diplomatic relations,” Dr. Al-Rfou said. He also recounted his personal experience studying in India in 1979. “When I reached India, immediately, I found I had not done that for my own environment. So we have very good relations, deep-rooted relations, between India and Arab civilization.”
Dr. Al-Rfou expressed pride in the current state of Jordan-India relations, saying, “Everybody, I think in India, is comfortable. Economically, in Jordan especially, our relation is always goodly and always respectful for both countries, and we do our best for the development of this relation.”
The event also featured testimonials from Jordanian alumni who shared their experiences of studying in India under the ITEC program.
The ITEC program, launched in 1964, has trained over 200,000 officials and professionals from more than 160 countries. The program, organized by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, offers nearly 10,000 fully-funded training opportunities annually. It continued during the COVID-19 pandemic through online platforms, providing healthcare and governance-related training to nearly 10,000 professionals worldwide.
In Jordan, ITEC operates through three main initiatives: the establishment of the India-Jordan Centre of Excellence in at Al Hussein Technical University, fully paid short-term training courses in India for Jordanian professionals, and executive programs and workshops for senior policymakers and executives.
