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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001060 
 
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 NOVEMBER SESSION READOUT: USA TAKES 
PRESIDENCY 
 
REF: COLOMBO 631 
 
COLOMBO 00001060  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: At the 266th session of the Colombo Plan Council 
held November 19, the United States took over the one-year 
rotating Presidency held most recently by Thailand.  The 
minutes from the 265th session were adopted and council 
members focused on the upcoming 42nd Consultative Committee 
Meeting (CCM) which India will host February 10-11, 2010. 
The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) presented its 2007/8 
and 2008/9 annual reports to the Council.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. In comparison with recent meetings, the 266th session ran 
smoothly with very few interventions (reftel).  Minutes from 
the previous session were adopted without discussion and 
included an amendment, previously circulated, from the 
Philippines.  The draft agenda for February's CCM in India 
did raise a number of questions.  Colombo Plan Secretary 
General Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia responded to a question from 
the Philippine representative regarding the role of the 
Council President at the CCM.  Chia noted that the host 
country will nominate a Chairman and Secretary General from 
India to run the CCM and indicated that the Council President 
will not have an unduly burdensome role to play.  Bangladesh 
questioned the role of observers, to which Chia responded 
that at the last CCM, UNICEF, UNESCO, and UNDP gave an 
overview of their regional cooperation programs.  Observer 
countries, however, do not traditionally make statements. 
 
¶3. Director General Shyamal Majumdar from the CPSC then gave 
a brief presentation on the annual reports for the college. 
He emphasized growth -- 64 programs benefitting 2468 trainees 
in the past year -- a 118 percent increase.  The CPSC is also 
developing a number of online courses and partnering with UN 
agencies to broaden the number of people reachable throughout 
the Colombo Plan region.  He also requested that the CPSC be 
included as an agenda item at the CCM.  Following the DG's 
presentation the annual reports were accepted and submitted. 
 
¶4. Thereafter, Thai Ambassador and outgoing Council President 
Kanasuta called the election for the presidency.  As 
expected, High Commissioner Gilani of Pakistan nominated U.S. 
Ambassador Butenis.  Kanasuta made some brief comments of 
thanks before turning the chair over to Ambassador Butenis. 
The Ambassador noted the cooperative regional development 
aspects of the Colombo Plan and urged the Secretariat to 
examine opportunities to provide additional assistance to the 
Maldives.  The Ambassador then listed the countries who will 
participate in the new Standing Committee on Administrative 
and Financial Matters for FY 2009/10.  Those include the 
U.S., Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia. 
Australia is also expected to participate, but its 
representative is awaiting final instructions from Canberra. 
 
¶5. Before concluding the meeting, the Japanese representative 
questioned the cost of the newly occupied Colombo Plan 
building (located at 31 Wirerama Road, Colombo 7).  The 
SecGen explained that the approved budget for the office 
space was 600,000 Sri Lanka Rupees (SLR) a month.  The lease 
agreement is for 500,000 SLR a month, and the government of 
Sri Lanka has agreed to pay for 50 percent of this cost, so 
the Colombo Plan is actually paying less for rent now than in 
the old office space.  The rent will not go up for five years. 
 
¶6. The Minutes of the 265th session and the draft agenda for 
 
COLOMBO 00001060  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the CCM have been forwarded via email to Greg Stanton and 
Thom Browne in INL, and Tony Hendon and Lisa Spratt in IO. 
The 267th session of the Colombo Plan Council is scheduled 
for January 20, 2010. 
 
¶7. 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.  Please 
contact EconOff Ken Kero-Mentz with any questions. 
FOWLER