The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950, and was attended by the finance ministers of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ceylon, Pakistan and New Zealand, and the prime ministers of Ceylon and India. Membership has expanded significantly over the years to the current 28 governments.
Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific
Flag of the Colombo Plan
Current (blue) and former (yellow) members of the Colombo Plan.
As the "Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and South-East Asia".
The primary focus of its work is on the development of human resources in the south and southeast regions of Asia. Aid to education 1950 to 1983 came to $72 billion, of which $41 billion came from the United States.[1][2]
The Colombo Plan enjoys a host country agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka in the form of a memorandum of understanding with privileges and immunities that are afforded by the Government of Sri Lanka.
In a speech made in Colombo on 5 July 2010, the 4th Secretary-General Dato' Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia said: "The gearing up of the level of our activities is made possible through the voluntary contributions of member countries and international agencies such as OPEC fund. Last year our programming was over US$10 million and we expect a more than US$12 million programming this year with almost another US$2 million in terms of cost-sharing from our member countries. With funding from the United States Government and 13 other member countries, the Colombo Plan is now the biggest stakeholder in drug demand reduction in the Asia-Pacific, with a special initiative in Afghanistan."[3]
Programme for Private Sector Development (PPSD, estd: 1995)
Programme for Public Administration & Environment (PPA, estd: 1995)
The Plan now
Over the years, while adhering to the concept of human resource development and South-South Cooperation in addressing issues of economic and social development, the programme content of the Colombo Plan has been changing to take account of the needs of member countries in a fast changing world economic environment. In the early years, the training programmes were more of a long-term nature, while recent programmes have been focusing on providing advanced skills and experience sharing aimed at arriving at the best practices in different fields of economic and social activities as a means of good policy making and governance. The current programmes of the Colombo Plan are in the areas of public policy formulation in an environment of globalisation and market economy, private sector development as a prime mover for growth, drug use and dependence prevention and treatment in member countries and addressing gender issues. The Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education located in Manila also provides skill development opportunities for technicians in middle level.
In her 2010 speech, Dato' Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia states: "The current Colombo Plan looks very different since our restructuring and revitalisation in 1995. As we continue to build upon our past successes, the new Colombo Plan uses cooperation among developing member countries or South-south Cooperation between the developed member countries and developing member countries, to underpin all our activities. Since our restructuring in 1995, we have now provided 16,082 scholarships to 23 member countries for both long-term and short-term training programmes."[3]
Past secretaries-general
The Colombo Plan underwent an organisational transformation and renewal in 1995, and the Colombo Plan Bureau became the Colombo Plan Secretariat to be headed by the Secretary-General, instead of a Director. The first Secretary-General was Dr. Kim Hak-su from Korea (January 1995 – March 1999) who was succeeded by Dr. Sarat Chandran, India (April 1999 – June 2003), Mr. Kittipan Kanjanapitkul from Thailand (June 2003 – August 2007), Dato' Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia from Malaysia (August 2007 – August 2011), the first Asian woman to hold this position, Mr. Adam Maniku from Maldives (15 August 2011 – November 2013), Mr. Kinley Dorji from Bhutan (May 2014 – April 2018) and, Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu (May 2018 - December 2021).The incumbent Secretary-General, Dr. Benjamin P. Reyes from The Philippines assumed duties on 1 May 2022 as the organisation's 8th Secretary-General.
Notable Colombo Plan scholars
Dr Sanduk Ruit (Nepal), founder, Himalayan Cataract Project and Tilganga Eye Hospital, Kathmandu.
Mapatunage James "M. J." Perera (Sri Lanka), he made broadcasting history by being the first Ceylonese Director General of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, taking over the helm from John Lampson of the BBC.
Dr. Khai Yuen Tang (Malaysia), Medical Practitioner, Colombo plan scholar at The Alfred Hospital, Department of Pathology from 1966 to 1969.
Boediono (Indonesia), 11th Indonesia Vice President.[5]
Pehin Sri Adenan Bin Haji Satem (Malaysia), former Chief Minister of Sarawak
Early criticism
The Plan has been criticised on various grounds. Some Asians see in it only the hand of British imperialism, especially as it is not aimed at developing national self-sufficiency. It offers an almost exclusively economic solution for problems which are also political and social. Dangerous issues such as landlordism and the organisation of labour, which invite Communist exploitation, are barely touched on, doubtless because it seemed politically inexpedient to raise such questions.[6]
There have been four past members of the Colombo Plan including two founding members in 1950, Canada and the United Kingdom. South Vietnam and Cambodia joined together in 1951. On 2 Jul 1976 South Vietnam was succeeded by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which withdrew in 1978. Vietnam was a provisional member from 5 Nov 2001 to 18 Nov 2003 until it was accepted as a full member in 2004.
^"Despite friction, links forged under original Colombo plan ensure goodwill is there says participant and Indonesian Vice President". www.deakin.edu.au. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
^Blackton, Charles S., The Colombo Plan, Far Eastern Survey, 7 February 1951.
^. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
Further reading
Auletta, Alex. "A retrospective view of the Colombo Plan: Government policy, departmental administration and overseas students." Journal of higher education policy and management 22.1 (2000): 47–58.
Lowe, David. "The Colombo Plan and 'soft' regionalism in the Asia-Pacific: Australian and New Zealand cultural diplomacy in the 1950s and 1960s" (Alfred Deakin Research Institute, 2010) online.
External links
Official website
International Organisations – The Colombo Plan
May 13, 2023
colombo, plan, regional, intergovernmental, organization, that, began, operations, july, 1951, organization, conceived, international, conference, commonwealth, conference, foreign, affairs, held, colombo, ceylon, lanka, january, 1950, attended, finance, minis. The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951 The organization was conceived at an international conference The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo Ceylon now Sri Lanka in January 1950 and was attended by the finance ministers of Australia the United Kingdom Canada Ceylon Pakistan and New Zealand and the prime ministers of Ceylon and India Membership has expanded significantly over the years to the current 28 governments Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the PacificFlag of the Colombo PlanCurrent blue and former yellow members of the Colombo Plan HeadquartersColombo Sri LankaOfficial languagesEnglishTypeEconomic forumMember countriesCurrent 28 Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Chile Fiji India Indonesia Iran Japan Laos Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal New Zealand Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Thailand United States Vietnam Former 4 Cambodia Canada South Vietnam United KingdomLeaders Secretary GeneralDr Benjamin P ReyesEstablishment Establishmenta28 November 1950 Commencement1 July 1951Websitehttp www colombo plan org As the Colombo Plan for Co operative Economic Development in South and South East Asia The primary focus of its work is on the development of human resources in the south and southeast regions of Asia Aid to education 1950 to 1983 came to 72 billion of which 41 billion came from the United States 1 2 Contents 1 Host country of the Colombo Plan 2 Programmes 3 Past Programmes 4 The Plan now 5 Past secretaries general 6 Notable Colombo Plan scholars 7 Early criticism 8 Present members 9 Past members 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksHost country of the Colombo Plan EditThe Colombo Plan enjoys a host country agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka in the form of a memorandum of understanding with privileges and immunities that are afforded by the Government of Sri Lanka In a speech made in Colombo on 5 July 2010 the 4th Secretary General Dato Patricia Yoon Moi Chia said The gearing up of the level of our activities is made possible through the voluntary contributions of member countries and international agencies such as OPEC fund Last year our programming was over US 10 million and we expect a more than US 12 million programming this year with almost another US 2 million in terms of cost sharing from our member countries With funding from the United States Government and 13 other member countries the Colombo Plan is now the biggest stakeholder in drug demand reduction in the Asia Pacific with a special initiative in Afghanistan 3 Programmes EditThe Colombo Plan has four programmes 4 Drug Advisory Programme DAP estd 1973 Gender Affairs Programme GAP estd 2014 Programme for Environment amp Climate Change ENV estd 2016 Capacity Building Programme CBP Past Programmes EditLong Term Scholarships Programme LTSP estd 1951 Programme for Private Sector Development PPSD estd 1995 Programme for Public Administration amp Environment PPA estd 1995 The Plan now EditOver the years while adhering to the concept of human resource development and South South Cooperation in addressing issues of economic and social development the programme content of the Colombo Plan has been changing to take account of the needs of member countries in a fast changing world economic environment In the early years the training programmes were more of a long term nature while recent programmes have been focusing on providing advanced skills and experience sharing aimed at arriving at the best practices in different fields of economic and social activities as a means of good policy making and governance The current programmes of the Colombo Plan are in the areas of public policy formulation in an environment of globalisation and market economy private sector development as a prime mover for growth drug use and dependence prevention and treatment in member countries and addressing gender issues The Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education located in Manila also provides skill development opportunities for technicians in middle level In her 2010 speech Dato Patricia Yoon Moi Chia states The current Colombo Plan looks very different since our restructuring and revitalisation in 1995 As we continue to build upon our past successes the new Colombo Plan uses cooperation among developing member countries or South south Cooperation between the developed member countries and developing member countries to underpin all our activities Since our restructuring in 1995 we have now provided 16 082 scholarships to 23 member countries for both long term and short term training programmes 3 Past secretaries general EditThe Colombo Plan underwent an organisational transformation and renewal in 1995 and the Colombo Plan Bureau became the Colombo Plan Secretariat to be headed by the Secretary General instead of a Director The first Secretary General was Dr Kim Hak su from Korea January 1995 March 1999 who was succeeded by Dr Sarat Chandran India April 1999 June 2003 Mr Kittipan Kanjanapitkul from Thailand June 2003 August 2007 Dato Patricia Yoon Moi Chia from Malaysia August 2007 August 2011 the first Asian woman to hold this position Mr Adam Maniku from Maldives 15 August 2011 November 2013 Mr Kinley Dorji from Bhutan May 2014 April 2018 and Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu May 2018 December 2021 The incumbent Secretary General Dr Benjamin P Reyes from The Philippines assumed duties on 1 May 2022 as the organisation s 8th Secretary General Notable Colombo Plan scholars EditDr Sanduk Ruit Nepal founder Himalayan Cataract Project and Tilganga Eye Hospital Kathmandu Dr Baburam Bhattarai Nepal former Maoist rebel and Prime Minister of Nepal Ong Teng Cheong Singapore fifth President of Singapore former Deputy Prime Minister in Singapore Khaw Boon Wan Singapore former Cabinet Minister in Singapore Raymond Lim Singapore former Cabinet Minister in Singapore Yeo Cheow Tong Singapore former Cabinet Minister in Singapore Mah Bow Tan Singapore former Cabinet Minister in Singapore Dato Hajji Abdul Ghani Bin Othman Malaysia former Chief Minister of Johor state in Malaysia Prof Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman astrophysicist Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan Malaysia Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Rural Development of Sabah Dr K V Thiruvengadam India Indian physician and medical teacher Mapatunage James M J Perera Sri Lanka he made broadcasting history by being the first Ceylonese Director General of Radio Ceylon the oldest radio station in South Asia taking over the helm from John Lampson of the BBC Livy Wijemanne Sri Lanka pioneer of Radio Ceylon J Soedjati Djiwandono Indonesian political scientist and founder of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta Chellapilla Venkata Rao 1910 1971 Indian botanist who worked extensively on Proteaceae and plant embryology He taught and worked at Andhra University Colombo plan scholar at University of Tasmania from 1955 to 1957 Dr Khai Yuen Tang Malaysia Medical Practitioner Colombo plan scholar at The Alfred Hospital Department of Pathology from 1966 to 1969 Boediono Indonesia 11th Indonesia Vice President 5 Pehin Sri Adenan Bin Haji Satem Malaysia former Chief Minister of SarawakEarly criticism EditThe Plan has been criticised on various grounds Some Asians see in it only the hand of British imperialism especially as it is not aimed at developing national self sufficiency It offers an almost exclusively economic solution for problems which are also political and social Dangerous issues such as landlordism and the organisation of labour which invite Communist exploitation are barely touched on doubtless because it seemed politically inexpedient to raise such questions 6 Present members EditThe Colombo Plan currently has 28 members Member economy Date of accession Afghanistan 1963 Australia 1951 Bangladesh 1972 Bhutan 1962 Brunei 2008 Chile 2021 Fiji 1972 India 1951 Indonesia 1953 Iran 1966 Japan 1954 South Korea 1962 Laos 1951 Malaysia 1957 Maldives 1963 Mongolia 2004 Myanmar 1952 Nepal 1952 New Zealand 1951 Pakistan 1951 Papua New Guinea 1973 Philippines 1954 Saudi Arabia 2012 7 Singapore 1966 Sri Lanka 1951 Thailand 1954 United States 1951 Vietnam 2004Past members EditThere have been four past members of the Colombo Plan including two founding members in 1950 Canada and the United Kingdom South Vietnam and Cambodia joined together in 1951 On 2 Jul 1976 South Vietnam was succeeded by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which withdrew in 1978 Vietnam was a provisional member from 5 Nov 2001 to 18 Nov 2003 until it was accepted as a full member in 2004 Member economy Date of accession Date of deposition Canada 1950 1992 United Kingdom 1950 1991 Cambodia 1951 1975 South Vietnam 1951 1975See also EditColombo Plan Staff CollegeReferences Edit Lowe 2010 Auletta 2000 a b Welcome speech by Dato Patricia Yoon Moi Archived 10 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Colombo 5 July 2010 Programmes Despite friction links forged under original Colombo plan ensure goodwill is there says participant and Indonesian Vice President www deakin edu au Retrieved 24 February 2019 Blackton Charles S The Colombo Plan Far Eastern Survey 7 February 1951 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined the Colombo Plan the Colombo Plan Secretariat Archived from the original on 23 August 2018 Retrieved 20 August 2012 Further reading EditAuletta Alex A retrospective view of the Colombo Plan Government policy departmental administration and overseas students Journal of higher education policy and management 22 1 2000 47 58 Lowe David The Colombo Plan and soft regionalism in the Asia Pacific Australian and New Zealand cultural diplomacy in the 1950s and 1960s Alfred Deakin Research Institute 2010 online External links EditOfficial website International Organisations The Colombo Plan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Colombo Plan amp oldid 1151879581, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
