Inauguration of the new generation Syrian-Indian Center of Excellence

Damascus-SANA

The Syrian-Indian New Generation Center for Excellence in Information Technology was inaugurated today with the aim of transferring the experience of Indian technological advancement to Syria, 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, affirmed 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 explained that India will provide all support and cooperation during the first year through its experts, as it will implement many qualitative training courses directed at the Syrian youth generation with the aim of preparing them with a high level to enter the labor market or perform their job duties to the fullest, which 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, indicating that the opening of the center is a symbol of the depth, strength and interdependence of Syrian-Indian relations, once again his country's commitment to expand its support to Syria in the field of technology and its contributions in the field of technology. Build capacity, develop skills, and support 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, “V.

Muralidharan, 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 friendly relations between the two countries, stressing his country’s commitment to participate in the reconstruction phase, expressing his confidence that the center will make Syria a regional hub for technology in the coming years.

The Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Ayman Susan, 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, indicating Syria’s desire and constant aspiration to advance its friendly relations with India to include all fields.

In a statement to SANA, the Director of the National Authority for Network Services, Dr. “Anas Dahabeya,” explained that the ministry seeks to develop the software industry in order to support the promising group of Syrian youth, especially the students and those interested, indicating the approval of a 50 percent discount for the youth and students applying to the center and the agreement with the Indian side to grant a certificate of following A course from the Advanced Computing Center in India for those who pass the final exam.

The director of the center, Eng. Iyad Darwish, indicated in a similar statement 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. And networks, information security and cyber forensic analysis, in addition to working to have a group of advanced courses in more specialized areas such as big data management, artificial intelligence, machine learning and image processing.

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, and 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. Cybersecurity Prahalad Harsha said that the courses will start early next month and will include training on various means of cybersecurity 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 in 42 training courses in the fields of programming, networks and information security, but as a result of the war on Syria, it was closed in mid-2012 and in 2019 a memorandum of understanding was signed to reactivate it and provide it with the necessary equipment by the Indian side in preparation for its re-launch with its new generation.

Nour El Youssef and Ghinwa Mia