The+Colombo+Plan

The Colombo Plan.
Contributors to this page are Allan, Taseen, Anna, Anita and Evgeny.

** The Colombo Plan ** The Colombo Plan is a regional organisation, consisting of member countries in the __Asia-Pacific Region__, and promotes collective inter-governmental effort to strengthen __economic__ and __social development__ in the region. The Colombo Plan’s activities’ primary focus is on __human resources development__. Its name comes from the place that the ‘plan’ was agreed upon- Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The original seven founding nations in __1950__ were Australia, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, and were joined in the next four years by Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, the United States, Vietnam and Thailand.



|| // Current members of the Colombo Plan. Canada, the UK, Cambodia and South Vietnam have left, // ||  ||

Although the intention of this ‘plan’ was to improve standard of living in the South-east Asian and Pacific areas, some of Australia’s earlier motives of joining this group in the 1950’s were out of self-interest. In the 1950’s, communism was an issue that concerned many Australians- and many people housed an extreme fear towards the possibility that it was to arrive in Australia and take away their freedom if nothing were to be done. Australia threw itself into many acts to try preventing the spread of communism, including taking part in the controversial Vietnam War and joining the Colombo Plan.

The Australian government at that time strongly believed that improved living standards in the Asia-Pacific region would foster political stability and prove a counter to communism in the region, thus joining the Colombo Plan. Through the agreements of the Colombo Plan, Australia was able to provide bilateral aid to such nations. Australia also used the aid program to involve the United Stated in regional affairs, to cultivate diplomatic and commercial relations between itself and other countries, to assist the rehabilitation of Japan and to play a part in the Cold War. On the other hand, others believed that increased personal contact with Asians via the Colombo Plan would temper growing resentment of the Australian immigration policy, which was created later.

Nevertheless, the Colombo Plan occupies a prominent place in the history of Australia’s relations with Asia, reaching into almost every aspect of foreign policy, from strategic planning to economic and cultural engagement. Nowadays, it is best remembered for sponsoring thousands of Asian students to study in Australian tertiary institutions.