India, Egypt agree on closer collaboration for skill development

New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) India and Egypt have agreed to strengthen strategic collaboration in skill development with the aim of creating a globally competitive, future-ready workforce, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting held here between officials of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and an Egyptian delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Technical Education, Prof Ayman Bahaa El Din.

"Looking ahead, the two countries identified several promising avenues for future cooperation. These include joint certification programmes, faculty and student exchanges, digital skilling and entrepreneurship initiatives, and the establishment of Centres of Excellence in priority sectors like information technology, agriculture, tourism, and green skills," the statement said.

Both delegations expressed a shared commitment to creating a globally competitive, future-ready workforce and to using their partnership as a template for broader South-South cooperation.

This engagement marks another milestone in the ever-strengthening India-Egypt relationship, building on the momentum of the 2023 elevation of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and the conferment of Egypt’s highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently.

Secretary, MSDE, Atul Kumar Tiwari, highlighted the enduring people-to-people and institutional linkages between the two nations. He emphasised India’s vision to become the "Skill Capital of the World" through the Skill India Mission, under which already close to 400,000 individuals have been trained in advanced domains such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data, while nurturing over 1.3 million entrepreneurs.

India’s efforts to align its vocational education and training (TVET) ecosystem with global standards and the establishment of world-class Skill India International Centres were presented as models for international collaboration.

The Egyptian delegation shared insights into Egypt’s comprehensive TVET reforms, including the EU-supported TVET Egypt Reform Programme and the establishment of Sector Skill Councils, which resonate with India’s scalable and affordable skilling models.

Both sides acknowledged the success of ongoing collaborations, such as the 2024 MoU between India’s NIELIT and Egypt’s Information Technology Institute, the El-Sewedy Group’s partnership with Amity University, and the Indian-supported Vocational Training Centre in Cairo, the statement added.

--IANS

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