The Colombo Plan: A Historical Overview of the Regional Cooperation for Economic Development
The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific is a regional organization that promotes economic and social development in the Asia-Pacific region. The Colombo Plan was established in 1951 and originally included member countries from South and Southeast Asia. Today, the Colombo Plan has expanded to include member countries from across the Asia-Pacific region, and its membership includes both developed and developing countries.
The Colombo Plan focuses on a range of issues, including economic development, education and training, health, and natural disasters. It works to promote cooperation and collaboration among member countries and provides technical assistance and capacity building to help member countries address development challenges. The Colombo Plan also works closely with other international organizations, such as the United Nations, to achieve its goals.
The Colombo Plan currently has 27 member countries:
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- China
- Fiji
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kiribati
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lao PDR
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Samoa
- Sri Lanka
- Tajikistan
In addition, the Colombo Plan has nine observer countries:
- Cook Islands
- Republic of Korea
- Russian Federation
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uzbekistan
