DUSHANBE
, July 18, Asia-Plus – An official opening of the Center for Information Technologies was held at the
National
Center
for Patents and Information in
Dushanbe
on July 18.
Telling an inaugurating ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister, Asadullo Ghulomov, noted that opening of the Center was an important political and economic event in Tajik-Indian relations. “This event is a result of cooperation between the two countries,” Asadullo Ghulomov said, noting that relations with
India
were one of priorities and main directions of
Tajikistan
’s foreign policy.
For his part, Indian Ambassador to Tajikistan Bondal Jaishankar noted that the Center was named after known thinker Abdulqodir Bedil.
“Information technologies are an integral part of development of economy, and this Center is dedicated to train Tajik youth in operating new information technologies,” Indian diplomat said.
According to him, such centers have already functioned in
Uzbekistan
and
Turkmenistan
, and they plan to open such a center in
Kyrgyzstan
in near future as well. The possibility of these centers having regional significance cannot be ruled out,” Ambassador Jaishankar added.
The Center for Information Technologies is located on the fourth floor of the
National
Center
for Patents and Information at the Ministry of Economy and Trade in
Dushanbe
. The Center has been set up under financial support of the Government of India, which has provided US$600,000 to fund this project. The project was launched in February 2005 following signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the creation of the Center for Information Technologies in
Dushanbe
signed between the governments of the two countries in November 2003. Experts from the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in
Poona
were sent to
Tajikistan
for creating the infrastructure, training personnel and organizing classes of the Center. The Center for Information Technologies in
Dushanbe
is provided with 65 items of office equipment, including computers, scanners and other technologies. Besides, they have purchased materials and some 2,200 books for the Center’s library. The Center consists of three premises, in which some 300 students may study daily. During six months experts from the C-DAC trained personnel for the Center selected by the Tajik side.
