The Consultative Committee (CCM) is the highest review and policy making body of the Colombo Plan comprising of all Member Governments. Its biennial meetings provide a forum for the exchange of views and review the work of the Colombo Plan in economic and social development within its regions.
The venue for the 46th CCM was the Government Guest House in Hanoi. This building is an important historical relic of Hanoi capital, especially associated with the National Day of Resistance of Vietnam (Dec. 19, 1946). Nowadays, the Guest House meets the needs of daily life and activities of high-level delegations of foreign Governments visiting Vietnam.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by Dao Ngoc Dung, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of the Government of Vietnam as guest of honour.
Highlighting the co-operation between the Government of Vietnam and the Colombo Plan, he said that ever since its accession to the Colombo Plan, the Government of Vietnam had organized substantive and meaningful events for the Colombo Plan in Vietnam.
He expressed his gratitude on behalf of his Government to the Colombo Plan for helping to train over 500 Vietnamese officials in many fields such as drug prevention and addiction treatment, public administration, environment, private sector development and gender equality.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Le Hoai Trung expressed his hope in striving to participate more actively in the Colombo Plan’s management. He noted with appreciation that the Colombo Plan has had a Vietnamese appointed as Director of the Drug Advisory Programme during the period 2009-2011 and most recently the appointment of the Secretary General.
He made special emphasis on an area that Vietnam wishes to continue collaborating with the Colombo Plan and that is on gender equality and women’s empowerment. He stressed that Vietnam is ready to work with the Colombo Plan and its member countries in organizing Gender Focal Points Conference in Vietnam next year.The President of the Colombo Plan Council, Mohamed Hussain Shareef and the Secretary-General, Ambassador Dr. Phan Kieu Thu also addressed the inaugural ceremony highlighting the way forward for the initiative for the next two years. In addition, the Secretary-General and the current Member States warmly welcomed Chile to join the Colombo Plan as a new member.

At the Conference, the Vietnam Women’s Union presented the Country Theme Paper on Gender Equality in Vietnam, which depicted the importance and priorities of Vietnam on gender equality.Sri Lanka volunteered to host the next CCM in Colombo in 2020 and was elected as the Deputy Chairperson to the 46th CCM. It has become a tradition at recent CCMs that the leader the delegation of the next host Government is chosen as the Deputy Chairperson of the CCM.