Colombo Plan
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The Colombo Plan is a regional
intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various typ ...
that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
,
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(now
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) in January 1950, and was attended by the finance ministers of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and the prime ministers of
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Membership has expanded significantly over the years to the current 28 governments. 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.


Host country of the Colombo Plan

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 Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
, with a special initiative in Afghanistan."Welcome speech by Dato' Patricia Yoon-Moi
, Colombo, 5 July 2010.


Programmes

The Colombo Plan has four programmes: *Drug Advisory Programme (DAP, estd: 1973) *Gender Affairs Programme (GAP, estd: 2014) *Programme for Environment & Climate Change (ENV, estd: 2016) *Capacity Building Programme (CBP)


Past Programmes

*Long-Term Scholarships Programme (LTSP, estd: 1951) *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 Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
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."


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

''See: Colombo Plan Scholars'' * Dr 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 Ong Teng Cheong ( zh, c=王鼎昌, p=Wáng Dǐngchāng; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a Singaporean politician who served as the fifth president of Singapore between 1993 and 1999. He was also the first elected president in Singapor ...
(Singapore), fifth President of Singapore, former Deputy Prime Minister in Singapore. *
Khaw Boon Wan Khaw Boon Wan (; born 8 December 1952) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Transport between 2015 and 2020, Minister for National Development between 2011 and 2015, and Minister for Health between 2003 and 2011. A mem ...
(Singapore), former Cabinet Minister in Singapore. *
Raymond Lim Raymond Lim Siang Keat ( zh, s=林双吉, p=Lín Shuāngjí, born 24 June 1959) is a former Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Lim has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the East Coast Group ...
(Singapore), former Cabinet Minister in Singapore. *
Yeo Cheow Tong Yeo Cheow Tong (; born 22 June 1947) is a former Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he served in the Cabinet from 1990 to 2006, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) of Hong Kah SMC from 12 December 19 ...
(Singapore), former Cabinet Minister in Singapore. *
Mah Bow Tan Mah Bow Tan ( zh, s=马宝山, p=Mǎ Bǎoshān; born 12 September 1948) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Leader of the House between 2007 and 2011, Minister for National Development between 1999 and 2011, Minister for the Envir ...
(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 Emerita Professor Tan Sri Dr. Mazlan binti Othman ( ms, مصلان بنت عثمان, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 11 December 1951) is a Malaysian astrophysicist whose work has pioneered Malaysia's participation in space exp ...
, astrophysicist, Director of the
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory framew ...
. *Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima
Joseph Pairin Kitingan Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan (born 17 August 1940) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Sabah from April 1985 to March 1994 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Keningau from August 1986 to May ...
(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 Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...
, the oldest radio station in South Asia, taking over the helm from John Lampson of the BBC. *
Livy Wijemanne Livy Wijemanne (1917-2002) as a pioneer of Radio Ceylon. He was one of Sri Lanka's greatest broadcasters. On 31 October 1948, the Post Master General (who was also the Director of Broadcasting) appointed the young announcer as an Assistant Contro ...
(Sri Lanka), pioneer of Radio Ceylon. *
J. Soedjati Djiwandono Johannes Baptista Soedjati Djiwandono (13 October 1933 – 9 January 2013) was an Indonesian political scientist who helped found the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, one of Indonesia's leading think tanks. Educati ...
, Indonesian political scientist and founder of the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit organization based in Indonesia which has served as a think tank on social, international, political and economical issues. CSIS was founded on Sept 1, 1971 by a group of ...
in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
. *
Chellapilla Venkata Rao Chellapilla Venkata Rao (1910–1971) was an Indian botanist. Education He was awarded his PhD from the University of Tasmania in 1957 with a thesis entitled ''Cytotaxonomic studies in the Proteaceae''. Academic appointments He worked in the ...
, (1910–1971) Indian botanist, who worked extensively on
Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...
, and plant embryology. He taught and worked at
Andhra University Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest do ...
. (Colombo plan scholar at
University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...
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 Boediono ( EYD: Budiono, pronounced ; born 25 February 1943) is an Indonesian economist and statesman. He was the 11th vice president of Indonesia, in office from 2009 to 2014. He became vice president after winning the 2009 presidential electi ...
(Indonesia), 11th Indonesia Vice President. *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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
exploitation, are barely touched on, doubtless because it seemed politically inexpedient to raise such questions.Blackton, Charles S.
The Colombo Plan
''Far Eastern Survey'', 7 February 1951.


Present members

The Colombo Plan currently has 28 members.


Past members

There have been four past members of the Colombo Plan including two founding members in 1950, Canada and the United Kingdom.
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
joined together in 1951. On 2 Jul 1976 South Vietnam was succeeded by the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
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.


See also

* Colombo Plan Staff College


References


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

*

{{South-South Educational organisations based in Sri Lanka Organizations established in 1951 Foreign relations of Australia Aid