Hanoi (VNA) – The 46th ConsultativeCommittee Meetingof the Colombo Plan (CCM46) kicked off in Hanoi on October 30. Thisis the first time Vietnam has hostedthe Colombo Plan’s important session, which this year is being held to focus ongender equality.

The two-day events brings together nearly 100 delegates from 23 member nations,representatives from the Colombo Plan Secretariat and many of Vietnam’s ministriesand agencies, as well as observers.

In his opening speech, Minister of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs DaoNgoc Dung highlighted the importance of the meeting, which occurs every twoyears, saying that the Colombo Plan’s top priority meet up aims to address shortcomingsand set out orientations for cooperation among member countries over the nexttwo years.

Minister Dung appreciated the valuable cooperation that the Colombo Plan hasgiven Vietnam, especially in helping the country train more than 500 staff invarious fields such as drug prevention, public administration, environmentalprotection, private economic development, and gender equality.

He stressed that Vietnam has selected the topic of gender equality for thismeeting because it is an area of special concern that has been integrated intoall socio-economic development programmes of the country.

Vietnam has achieved remarkable results in terms of gender equality measures,and is one of the countries with the best gender equality index, ranking secondin the ASEAN region, he said.

The minister noted, however, that Vietnam still faces many challenges such as newrequirements from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, domestic violence, violenceagainst young girls, and women trafficking. He said it is important tostrengthen close cooperation among member countries in sharing experiences,implementing gender equality programmes and courses, as well as continuing programmesin drug prevention and detoxification, especially synthetic drugs.

He emphasised Vietnam’s increasingly active participation in managing ColomboPlan activities, such as its successful candidacy for the position of Directorof the Drug Advisory Programme in 2009-2011, and the GeneralSecretary of the Colombo Plan for the 2018-2022 term.

Addressing the event as Chairman of the CCM46, Deputy Foreign Minister Le HoaiTrung highlighted some of the positive effects from the training courses providedby the Colombo Plan to Vietnam during its national development.

Hesaid the meeting offers a good opportunity for member countries to re-evaluateobjectives and proposals that have been implemented in the last two years, and mapout appropriate directions for the Colombo Plan in the time to come, towards improvingits role and influence.

General Secretary of the Colombo Plan Phan Kieu Thu presented the targetprogramme during her term, especially those goals for the next two years.

Participants also heard the annual report on the operation of the Colombo Plan’sSecretariat, as well as those on training and capacity building programmes.

They also discussed and agreed on orientations and activities of the ColomboPlan for the next two years, as well as commitments of each member country.

The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic andSocial Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the CommonwealthConference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) inJanuary 1950 and was launched on July 1, 1951, as a cooperative venture for theeconomic and social advancement of the peoples of South and SoutheastAsia. 

It is based on the partnership concept for self-help andmutual help in the development process, with the focal areas being humanresources development and south-south cooperation.

With 27 official members, the Colombo Plan is a forum fordiscussing development needs, sharing experience, implementing programmes forstronger socio-economic development, and supporting less developed countries inthe region. 

The Colombo Plan mainly operates through organising trainingcourses and helping its member nations develop human resources. It now runsfour training programmes including the Drug Advisory Programme (DAP), theProgramme for Public Administration and Environment (PPA&ENV), theProgramme for Private Sector Development (PPSD), and the Long-Term ScholarshipsProgramme (LTSP). 

Since it officially began its membership withthe organisation in 2003, Vietnam has sent nearly 400 officials to attendtraining courses within the Colombo Plan’s cooperation programmes in the fieldsof drug prevention, public administration, reproductive health, andenvironmental protection. –VNA