IT training centers in Asia

IT training centers in Asia

TOKYO (Nikkei): The Japanese government by 2003 plans to create 30 information technology training centers mainly in Southeast Asia as part of a US$15 billion initiative pledged by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to help erase the so-called digital divide between industrialized and developing nations, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Friday morning edition.

Mori promised the funding at the Okinawa summit meeting of the Group of Eight nations in July. The government is now leaning toward providing about $5 billion through technical cooperation and the rest via official development assistance. The money is slated to be disbursed in two installments over the five years through 2005, the business daily reported.

The first phase of the plan, ending in 2003, will be devoted to boosting the base levels of IT, mainly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Financial aid as well as Japanese technicians will be provided to IT centers to foster technological cooperation, the report said.