US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1991

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001991 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, IO/T 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, AORC, CE 
SUBJECT:  Colombo Plan:  Report on November 18 Special 
Session 
 
Refs:  (A) State 314650 
 
-      (B) Colombo 1850 (All Notal) 
 
1.  (U) This message is Sensitive But Unclassified -- 
Please handle accordingly. 
 
2.  (SBU) On November 18, the Colombo Plan Council held 
a Special Session to address pressing matters in the 
wake of the postponed 39th Consultative Committee 
Meeting (CCM), originally scheduled for April 2003, in 
Tehran, Iran.  The following key decisions were taken: 
 
-- Mongolia and Vietnam were approved for full 
membership by the Council. 
 
-- The proposed amendment to the Colombo Plan 
Constitution regarding suspension of training 
opportunities to member states with annual dues four or 
more years in arrears was tabled pending further 
consultation by the U.S. representative with its host 
government.  (Septel will provide expanded background on 
the issue and request Department guidance.) 
 
-- Cambodia's request for exemption of 20 years of 
unpaid dues and request for future exemption of 
membership fees was denied by the Council. 
 
-- The offer, by Bhutan, to host the 40th CCM in 2005 
was welcomed by the member states. 
 
-- The offer, by Iran, to host the rescheduled 39th CCM 
in April or May 2004 was noted by the Secretary General, 
who then suggested May 9-10, 2004 for the meeting. 
Member states welcomed the suggested date, but noted 
that they had to discuss it with their respective 
governments.  The U.S. indicated that, in its long-held 
position, it had no objection to the Iranian government 
hosting the meeting, but added that it would not attend. 
(Note:  The 39th CCM, originally scheduled for April 
2003 in Tehran, Iran, was postponed due to the Iraq 
conflict.) 
 
-- Regarding the substance of the 39th CCM, the 
Secretary General suggested that, as 2004 is the 10 year 
 
SIPDIS 
anniversary of the revitalization program of the Colombo 
Plan, an "Eminent Persons Group" be formed, prior to the 
CCM, to evaluate what the organization has accomplished 
in the past 10 years and to provide strategic planning 
for the next 5-10 years.  In response to Ambassador's 
query, given that the U.S. will not be present in 
Tehran, the Secretary General said he will present to 
the Council the terms of reference for this group at the 
next Council meeting. 
 
3.  (U) The Special Session was attended by 
representatives of Australia, Burma, India, Indonesia, 
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri 
Lanka, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam, as well as the 
Colombo Plan President and Secretary General. 
 
LUNSTEAD