COLOMBO PLAN’S 10th ANNIVERSARY

Press, Volume C, Issue 29554, 1 July 1961, Page 13

COLOMBO PLAN’S 10th ANNIVERSARY

Since 1950 more than 250.000! Asians have been trained and' the services of nearly 12,000 experts provided to countries by members of the Colombo Plan and the agencies of the United Nations, says a report on the tenth anniversary of the start of the Colombo Plan.

During 1959-60 alone, 4268 men and women received training under the Colombo Plan and during the period from July. 1960. to March this year 2871. The number of new Colombo Plan experts' provided during 1959-60 was! 535. It was 428 in the nine| months ending March 31, 1961.' Technical co-operation under the Colombo Plan continues to play a vital role in the economic development of the area. It takes three forms—the supply of the services of experts, the provision of training facilities, and the giving of equipment. Learning New Skills Since the inception of the Colombo Plan in 1950 to June 1960. the total expenditure on technical assistance—borne by countries providing the training or supplying the experts—ha- amounted to more than £46 4m. Nearly half of this total expenditure on technical assistance was incurred on the supply of experts, about a quarter on the provision of training places, and the remainder on equipment. From 1950 to March. 1961. 17,987 persons have, under the Colombo Plan, learnt new skills or attained higher standards of efficiency in skills previously learnt and 2157 experts visited the region to perform and demonstrate a wide variety of highly technical tasks. These totals do not include the large number of men and women who received training in the United States from 1950 to June, 1958, nor the experts provided by her up to June 1959. Of the 17,987 trainees who received training in skills ranging from steel engineering to journalism and printing, 18 came from Brunei: 868 from Burma: 440 from Cambodia: 1356 from Ceylon: 3738 from India; 2226 from Indonesia; 353 from Laos; 852 from Malaya; 1162 from Nepal: 188 from North Borneo; 2335 from Pakistan: 1384 from the Philippines; 219 from Sarawak; 259 from Singapore; 1658 from Thailand. and 915 from Vietnam. The co-onerative element in the Colombo Plan is underlined by the fact that two trainees came from Australia to receive training within the region. 14 from Japan, and one from New Zealand.

Six of the 4268 persons ■who receive training in 195960 came from Brunei: 101 from Burma; 176 from Cambodia: 168 from Ceylon: 1045 from India: 457 from Indonesia; 155 from Laos; 180 from Malaya; 251 from Nepal; 45 from North Borneo; 297 from Pakistan; 365 from the Philippines; 53 from Sarawak: 14 from Singapore; 570 from Thailand; and 403 from Vietnam. One trainee came from Japan and one from New Zealand.

They received training in Australia <425) Burma (5) Canada <277' Ceylon <l2l India <272) Japan <63* NewZealand (70) Pakistan <l4> the Philippines <6) United Kingdom <613) and United States <2SID.

During the nine months from July, 1960 to March, 1961, 2871 persons received training and 428 experts, again not counting those already in the held, came into the region. Burma provided 49 of these trainees. Cambodia 60. Ceylon 116, India 822, Indonesia 309. Japan 3. Laos 14, Malaya 68. Nepal 193, North Borneo and Brunei 4. Pakistan 365. the Philippines 367, Sarawak 26. Singapore 8, Thailand 350, and Vietnam 116.

They received training in Australia <105), Burma <2>. Canada (190), India (249), Indonesia <4), Japan <106), Malaya <2). New Zealand <25). Pakistan <6), United Kingdom <454), and United States >1728). Experts

During the period Julv,' 1960—March, 196 i. 428 Colombo Plan experts came into the region. These experts came from Australia <85>,l Canada <l4). India <B9). Japan; <69). New Zealand (16), the 1 United Kingdom <24), and the United States <161). Six of these 428 exnerts worked in Burma. 18 in Cambodia, 22 in Ceylon. 45 i in India, 51 in Indonesia, three in Laos, 26 in Malaya, 87 in Nepal, five in North Borneo. 54 in Pakistan, 13 in the Philippines, five in Sarawak. 18 in Singapore. 58 in Thailand and six in Vietnam. Eleven are working on the Mekong River project. It is a distinctive feature of |the Colombo Plan that member countries within South and South-east Asia which have good training facilities to offer are willing to make them available to others that still lack them. Under Colombo Plan technical cooperation India had by June, 1960. trained 1279 persons from neighbouring Colombo Plan countries. Of the 11 countries which provided training facilities to their Colombo Plan partners in 1959-60, India comes fifth after the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Burma, Ceylon, the Federation of Malaya. Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand also provided training facilities to other Colombo Plan countries. The proportion of training within the region, though not large, is steadily rising. An important role in this movement is played by the United States ‘ Third Country" programme under which institutions in the countries of the region, especially in the Philippines and Thailand, accept trainees at the expense of the United States.