WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016, KUALA LUMPUR: The Third Country Training Program (TCTP) 2016 held from 24 October - 2 November 2016 proved to be a huge success with various knowledge in trade imparted to the African participants. The capacity building program was a collaborative effort between Malaysia & Japan, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is the main agency supporting the programme.

Thirteen participants who are government officials from countries such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania & Zimbabwe attended the 10-day programme which covered a wide range of briefings focusing on trade, investment, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development, start-ups as well as agriculture-based production and management.

Other agencies, Government Linked Companies and private companies that have participated in the TCTP included Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), SME Corp, Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGiC), Felda Global Ventures (FGV), CIAST, Perodua, Asian Aerospace City & Hyrax Oil.

According to MATRADE’s Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Dzulkifli Mahmud through the TCTP MATRADE as Malaysia’s trade promotion agency is able to contribute to the development of third-world countries through knowledge-sharing initiative. “Such effort will provide invaluable knowledge for the participants to apply back in their home country, in developing their local industries,” he said.

During the programme, MATRADE had also launched the Alumni of Malaysia Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP / TCTP) on trade promotion to provide a platform for continuous communication and exchange of ideas and information among the participating countries.