Colombo Plan to celebrate 60th anniversary today

The 60th anniversary celebrations of the Colombo Plan will be inaugurated tomorrow (1 July) at the Hotel Hilton Colombo by the Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris.

A special lecture by Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation and an International panel discussion on “South-South Cooperation: Strategic Directions for Continuing Relevance” will follow the inauguration session.

In conjunction with the 60th anniversary celebrations the Colombo Plan will hold the fourth International Training Programme bringing together more than 22 international participants to Colombo from developing Colombo Plan Member countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Colombo Plan was formed at the Commonwealth conference that was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in January 1950 and launched on 1 July, 1951 as a collaborative effort for economic and social progress in the South Asia and Southeast Asia region.