The United States of America, represented by Her Excellency Julie Chung, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, assumed the presidency of the Colombo Plan Council during a Special Session held on 7 May 2025.
The presidency of the Council rotates annually among its 28 member states in alphabetical order. It was previously held by Thailand. The Colombo Plan Council comprises representatives from the diplomatic missions of member states based in Sri Lanka and convenes quarterly in Colombo. Since 2020, the members out of Colombo have been attending the meeting virtually.
The Special Session was attended by the outgoing President, His Excellency Paitoon Mahapannaporn, Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka; Hon. Arun Hemachandra, Deputy Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka; Hon. Tri Tharyat, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Cooperation of Indonesia; along with eight Ambassadors and 15 Deputy Ambassadors representing 23 member countries.
The United States, the first non-Commonwealth country to join the Colombo Plan in 1951, supports Sri Lanka’s ports sector through the Colombo Plan, providing counternarcotics programming and technical assistance to enhance port security and operational capacity.
As the Colombo Plan Secretariat prepares to mark its 75th anniversary next year, it looks forward to the leadership of the new Council President in steering both the anniversary celebrations and shaping the future strategic direction of the organisation.
(L) H.E. Julie Chung, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, incoming president of the Colombo Plan Council addressing the Special Session held on 7 May 2025. (R) H. E. Dr. Benjamin P. Reyes, Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan.
H. E. Dr. Benjamin P. Reyes, Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan (L) and H.E. Julie Chung, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and incoming president of the Colombo Plan Council (R) presenting a commemorative plaque to H. E. Paitoon Mahapannaporn, Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka.
(L-R) : H.E. Andalib Elias, High Commissioner of Bangladesh; H.E. Miyon Lee, Ambassador of South Korea; H.E. Trinh Thi Tam, Ambassador of Vietnam; H.E. Dewi Gustina Tobing, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia; H.E. Tri Tharyat, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia; H. E. Julie Chung, Ambassador of United States of America; H. E. Paitoon Mahapannaporn, Ambassador of Thailand; H.E. Dr. Benjamin P. Reyes, Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan; H.E. Maj. Gen. (R) Faheem Ul Aziz, HI(M), High Commissioner of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Mr. KAMOSHIDA Naoaki, Minister/ Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Japan; H.E. Masood Imad, High Commissioner of Maldives.
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