Consultative Committee on Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia

The eighth meeting of the Consultative Committee on Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia (Colombo Plan) was held in Wellington, New Zealand from December 4 to 8, 1956. The committee noted the progress reported by the United States on a proposal for a regional nuclear center in Manila, for which the United States was prepared to contribute approximately $20 million. The Canadian delegate announced an increase to $34.4 million in the Canadian contribution to the Colombo Plan. Canada also reported on progress in the construction of the Canada-India reactor being established at the Indian Atomic Energy Research Center near Bombay. A communique issued at the end of the meeting stated that during the previous year, a turning point in the progress of the Asian members of the Colombo Plan, many countries had formulated new or renewed national plans and had given continuing attention to improving the planning and execution of their public investment projects. It was reported that the greater part of the cost of development in the public sector was being provided through the efforts of the people of the area, and that, in addition to governmental development projects, private investment was making an important contribution, especially in agriculture and small-scale industries. The report, observing that one of the main obstacles to progress under the Colombo Plan was the lack of skilled personnel, stressed the need for training students in the more developed countries of the area and for sending experts to the area.