HUGE PLAN FOR AID TO ASIA IS APPROVED

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 September 1950, Page 5

HUGE PLAN FOR AID TO ASIA IS APPROVED

LONDON, September 29 (Rec 10.30 a.m.). —The Ministers of seven Commonwealth countries, meeting in closed session today, approved the experts’ report for the £1,725,000,000 economic development plan for South and South-east Asia.

The report contains the six-year development schemes of India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo.

The six-year programmes concentrate on fundamental aspects of development, such as agricultural and power projects, transport and basic industries and health and social welfare schemes.

The United States Government and the International Bank have been kept informed of the progress of the talks and observers say that, to be workable, both these bodies and Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada must finance the scheme.

On Monday, the Ministers will be joined by representatives of the non-Commonwealth countries of South-east Asia—Burma, Indonesia, Siam and the three associate States of Indo-China. Burma and Indonesia will attend only as observers. The technical assistance bureau now established at Colombo will administer the £8,000,000 fund already contributed by Commonwealth countries in a three-year scheme to help South and South-east Asian countries to train technicians and to use the technical aid facilities of the United Nations agencies.