COLOMBO PLAN JANUARY SESSION READOUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000066 SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/MPR/EA, IO/GS, AND INL/C E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: APER AORC ECON KUNR UN CE SUBJECT: COLOMBO PLAN JANUARY SESSION READOUT REF: 09 COLOMBO 1060 ¶1. SUMMARY: The U.S. Ambassador (and current Colombo Plan Council President) led a discussion about the Eminent Persons' Report at the 267th session of the Colombo Plan Council held January 20. Despite its impressive work plan, the Colombo Plan has languished in recent years with little funding input from its members. Most Colombo Plan activities focus on Drug Advisory Program (DAP) activities in Afghanistan funded by the USG, while the public and private sector management areas and the long-term scholarship program are funded from overhead from the USG,s DAP contribution. Colombo Plan members discussed the Eminent Persons' Report,s recommendations to consider other areas of focus, but some thought the recommendations were too radical. Member states agreed that the Colombo Plan needs to identify new funding streams. The Colombo Plan Secretariat (CPS) presented its 2010 Work Plan to the Council, which the Council adopted. Council members reviewed the plans for the upcoming 42nd Consultative Committee Meeting (CCM),which India will host February 10-11, 2010. END SUMMARY. ¶2. BACKGROUND: The Colombo Plan is a regional cooperation organization established in 1951. Member countries include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the U.S.A. and Vietnam. The four permanent programs focus on public administration and environment, private sector development, long-term fellowship opportunities, and the drug advisory program. The Colombo Plan promotes economic and social development, technical cooperation, information sharing and capacity building, and technology transfer among the member countries. SUGGESTIONS TO REVIVE THE COLOMBO PLAN ¶3. Per the Ambassador's request, the Standing Committee (U.S., Australia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia) met on January 9 to discuss the recommendations included in the Eminent Persons' Report (forwarded to IO, INL and SCA/INSB),which contains suggestions to refocus the Colombo Plan,s activities. As expected, at the 267th Council session on January 20, Colombo Plan members had numerous comments on the Report. Many members (Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Philippines) expressed concern that the recommendations are too radical or that their favorite programs may be eliminated. Others misunderstood the Report's recommendation that the Drug Advisor Program (DAP) place in-country advisors in certain countries. There was broad agreement that the CPS should pay its local employees at least $2/day (a Millennium Development Goals guideline). A number of countries recognized the need to identify new funding streams. Pakistan and Bangladesh expressed concern about having the Colombo Plan include anti-terrorism activities. The Maldives and Australia called on the Colombo Plan to begin focusing on global climate change. Iran focused on an extraneous issue by insisting the Report use the term Persian Gulf instead of the generic "Gulf." ¶4. Ambassador Butenis expressed her expectation that the Council will reach consensus on the Report and it can be approved in India, noting that the CPS needs to begin looking COLOMBO 00000066 002 OF 002 at 2011 and the programs and projects that it will organize. Following the discussion, Colombo Plan Secretary General Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia offered to collect all comments in writing and find "common ground" in the Report prior to the CCM. In the meeting itself, EconOff addressed member states' concerns by noting that approving the report does not mean the Colombo Plan will shift focus overnight. The Report's recommendations simply allow the CPS to consider new areas in the hopes of identifying additional donors to match with member states' interests. EconOff also stated that additional resources could be saved by combining the private and public sector training programs. Finally, EconOff pointed out the DAP in-country advisor would only be placed with host country support. ¶5. Colombo Plan Secretary General Chia gave a brief presentation on the Colombo Plan's 2010 Work Plan, highlighting the number of programs under the DAP, the public and private management areas, and the long-term scholarship program. Following the presentation, Council members lauded the Secretary General and the CPS for developing such a full program for the year despite ongoing fundraising problems. The Work Plan was then approved. Council members reviewed the schedule for the upcoming 42nd Consultative Committee Meeting (CCM),which India will host February 10-11, 2010. The representative from India gave a brief overview of the CCM's draft schedule. The 268th session of the Colombo Plan Council is scheduled for April 22, 2010. ¶6. COMMENT: Despite an impressive amount of programming and projects it supports and organizes each year, the Colombo Plan has languished in recent years with little funding input from its members. The overhead from the USG-funded DAP projects in Afghanistan supports most Colombo Plan activities, for example the public and private sector management programs and the long-term scholarship program. The Ambassador has informed the Colombo Plan that this may not be sustainable, and is working closely with the CPS to ensure adoption of the Eminent Persons' Report at the CCM. BUTENIS