Vietnamese diplomat elected 7th Secretariat-General of the Colombo Plan

(VNF) – Dr. Phan Kieu Thu, former Ambassador of Vietnam to Sri Lanka, has recently elected as the 7th Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan. The announcement was made on December 12.

Colombo Plan is an inter-govermental and inter-zone organization, which comprises 28 member states, including Vietnam.

The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950 and was launched on 1 July 1951 as a cooperative venture for the economic and social advancement of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia.

The current programmes of the Colombo Plan are in the areas of public policy formulation in an environment of globalisation and market economy, private sector development as a prime mover for growth and in drug abuse and prevention in member countries. The Colombo Plan also provides skill development opportunities for technicians in middle level through another of its programmes the Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education located in Manila.

Dr.Phan Kieu Thu and President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena (source: colombopage.com)

Dr. Phan Kieu Thu was officially appointed as Ambassador of Vietnam to Colombo (Sri Lanka) in August 2014. As a proactive ambassador, she has contributed tremendously to the growing bilateral ties of Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

As the new Secretariat General of the Colombo Plan, the Vietnamese diplomat will lead the secretariats to participates in an advisory capacity at the Consultative Committee Meetings and assists the Colombo Plan Council in discharging its functions.

She will also be in overall charge of all financial and administrative matters on which he/she reports to the Council./.

( Translated by Phi Yen )