Syrian-Indian Center of Excellence aims to transfer Indian IT experience to Syria

With the aim of transferring the experience of Indian technological advancement to Syria, the Syrian-Indian New Generation Center for Excellence in Information Technology was inaugurated on Wednesday at the National Authority for Network Services building in Damascus.

In a statement to reporters, the Minister of Communications and Technology, Eng. Iyad Al-Khatib, confirmed that the strong relations with India and friendly countries resulted in the reopening of the center in its new generation, after supplying a number of equipment necessary to train those wishing to learn programming languages and information and cyber security at acceptable prices.

Al-Khatib noted that India will provide support and cooperation during the first year through its experts, as it will implement many qualitative training courses for  the Syrian youth generation with the aim of highly preparing them to enter the labor market or perform their job duties properly. This in turn will raise the level of the Syrian information technology market.

In a similar statement, the Indian ambassador in Damascus, Mahinder Singh Kanyal, confirmed that the center will make Syria a center for information technology and a leading country in this field in the near future, noting that the opening of the center is a symbol of the depth, strength and interdependence of Syrian-Indian relations. The ambassador renewed his country’s commitment to expand its support to Syria in the field of technology and its contributions in building capacity, developing skills, and supporting the management of Syrian resources according to the country’s needs.

The opening of the center included the broadcast of a televised speech by the Indian Minister of External Affairs in which he stated that the opening of the center is part of his country’s efforts to build capacities under cooperation with Syria and an affirmation of the depth of friendship between the two countries. He also stressed his country’s commitment to participating in the reconstruction phase, expressing his confidence that the center will make Syria a regional center for technology in the coming years.

The Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Ayman Sousan, affirmed in a speech that reactivating the center’s work is an expression of the deep-rooted historical friendship between the two countries and a continuation of India’s supportive stances for Syria, voicing Syria’s desire and constant aspiration to advance its friendly relations with India to include all fields.

Director of the National Authority for Network Services, Dr. “Anas Dahabeya,” noted that the ministry seeks to develop the software industry in order to support the Syrian youth, especially the students and those interested.

The director of the center, Eng. Iyad Darwish, said that the center aims to raise the scientific level and practical experience of engineers and technicians specialized in the fields of information technology in the public and private sectors, especially the youth and students category.

Regarding the training that will be provided by the Indian experts, trainer Jayebhim Gaikwad pointed out that there are 3 Indian trainers who will undertake the task of training Syrian students in cyber forensics, network security and program development. They will provide the necessary equipment and software applications, where there will be 4 training hours per day and a total of 320 hours throughout the year. Cyber security trainer Prahalad Harsha said that the courses will start early next month and will include training on various means of cyber-security and network security and its basics.

The Syrian-Indian Center of Excellence was opened in 2010 and trained more than 700 engineers and technicians from the public and private sectors within 42 training courses in the areas of programming, networks and information security. But as a result of the war on Syria, it was closed in mid-2012. A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2019 to reactivate it and provide it with the necessary equipment by the Indian side in preparation for its re-launch with its new generation.

Inas Abdulkareem