USA assumes presidency of Colombo Plan Council

The United States of America, represented by Julie Chung, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, assumed the presidency of the Colombo Plan Council during a Special Session held on 7 May. 

The presidency of the Council rotates annually among its 28 member states in alphabetical order. It was previously held by Thailand. The Colombo Plan Council comprises representatives from the diplomatic missions of member states based in Sri Lanka and convenes quarterly in Colombo. Since 2020, the members out of Colombo have been attending the meeting virtually. 

The Special Session was attended by the outgoing President, Paitoon Mahapannaporn, Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka; Arun Hemachandra, Deputy Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka; Tri Tharyat, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Cooperation of Indonesia; along with eight Ambassadors and 15 Deputy Ambassadors representing 23 member countries. 

The United States, the first non-Commonwealth country to join the Colombo Plan in 1951, supports Sri Lanka’s ports sector through the Colombo Plan, providing counternarcotics programming and technical assistance to enhance port security and operational capacity.

As the Colombo Plan Secretariat prepares to mark its 75th anniversary next year, it looks forward to the leadership of the new Council President in steering both the anniversary celebrations and shaping the future strategic direction of the organisation.