Vietnamese Ambassador elected Colombo Plan’s Secretary General

Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu

Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu was born in 1971 in Ha Noi. She is a professional diplomat with abundant experience. Earlier, the Vietnamese Government agreed to appoint Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu as the Vietnamese representative for the post. 

The Vietnamese diplomat was the seventh Secretary General of the Colombo Plan, paying the way for Viet Nam to deeply integrate into Colombo Plan’s activities and fulfill socio-economic performance, poverty reduction, environmental protection, and gender promotion. These are prioritized goals of Viet Nam in national development. 

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

The Colombo Plan aims to help its member countries promote socio-economic development, poverty reduction, environmental protection and gender equality. 

Since its official membership of the organization in 2003, Viet Nam has sent nearly 400 officials to attend training courses within the Colombo Plan’s cooperation programs, in the fields of drug prevention, public administration, reproductive health, and environmental protection./.

By Kim Anh