Pubdate: Sun, 30 Mar 2008
Source: Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)
Copyright: 2008 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.sundayobserver.lk
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2993

EXPLORE NEW WAYS TO ASSIST MEMBER COUNTRIES - SECY GEN

The Colombo Plan (CP) is reintroducing its initial  objectives to the
member countries, Secretary General  Patricia Yoon told the third year
review meeting of the  Outreach/Drop-in Centres, the drug addicts
rehabilitation centres, last week.

Our motto is "planning prosperity together" and it  suggests the
partnership concept aimed at social and  economic development of its
member countries.

The main focus of the CP is technical cooperation among  developing
countries or South South cooperation.

Through these efforts CP has been serving its member  countries for 57
years, she said. She said that in the  past, the economies in the Asia
Pacific region were  mainly agricultural.

Today the situation has changed plans and new ways and  means have to
be explored to assist member countries.

Technological empowerment and capacity building of the  government
sectors of the member countries are at the  top of the CP agenda today.

Sri Lanka as the host country of the CP always benefits  from the CP
programs. CP has provided a large number of  scholarships to develop
HR in the country, she said. In  the early 1970s CP identified the
need to address the  growing problem of drug abuse in the region and
established the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program  (CPDAP) with
financial assistance from the US  government.

The task of the CPDAP is to assist the governments of  member
countries in formulating policies and designing  programs to control
the drug problem. CPDAP mainly  focused on human resources development
in all areas  related to drugs, Yoon said.

The new director of the CPDAP Devendra Dutt said that  drugs have
become a major threat to the region.

He said that there is a huge stockpile of opium  weighing around 3,000
tonnes in Afghanistan to be  converted into drugs.

This is a real threat and communities in the region  should be kept
away from this danger.

The region is facing new threats posed by illicit drug  production,
trafficking and abuse.

The Outreach/Drop-in centre is one of CP's innovative  strategies
introduced to address the issues.

CP has set up eight centres in Malaysia, Pakistan and  the Philippines
to support the countries in the  treatment and aftercare of drug
addicts, Dutt said.
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MAP posted-by: Derek