Participants of the Third Country Training Programme 2022 on SME Development for African countries with SME Corp Malaysia management and Hafizah while (right panel, from left) are Masahiko, Rizal and Jica project formulation advisor Egawa Zenjiro.
TO foster regional and sub-regional technical cooperation, particularly among developing countries, SME Corp Malaysia collaborated with Foreign Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to organise the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) 2022 on SME Development for African countries.
The event took place virtually earlier this month.
In his address at the opening ceremony, SME Corp Malaysia chief executive officer Rizal Nainy emphasised that it was crucial to recognise the integral role of SMEs in shaping the future as well as the need for new and alternative ways to address challenges.
Jica chief representative Takizawa Masahiko highlighted that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy announced by the Malaysian Government.
It is also the 30th anniversary of cooperation in joint international training programmes between Malaysia and Japan.
To build on the successes in the last three decades, Jica aims to strive further in enhancing joint endeavours with the ministry and SME Corp Malaysia.
The programme culminated with a closing ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
SME Corp Malaysia chairman Datuk Seri Syed Hussien Al Habshee, in his speech, reiterated that successful cooperation was only possible with the collective efforts of stakeholders.
Also present at the closing ceremony was the ministry’s International Cooperation and Development Division undersecretary Hafizah Abdullah, who expressed hope that the training programme would strengthen friendly exchanges and create opportunities for more mutually beneficial engagements and people-to-people ties across a wide range of sectors.
The capacity-building training programme under the ambit of the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme involved the sharing of Malaysia and Japan’s experiences in SME development, with special emphasis on Covid-19 recovery measures.
Participants from Kenya, Mauritius and Uganda joined the TCTP alumni this year.
A total of 150 participants from 15 African countries have been trained by SME Corp Malaysia since the programme’s inception in 2011.
