THE COLOMBO PLAN

for locomotive production and the manufacture of fertilisers in India, for establishing a security printing works in Pakistan, and for developing cement production in Ceylon. Nothing fundamentally new is required in the way of organisation to stimulate the flow of technical assistance through private enterprise, and the hoped-for expansion in private investment should be followed by an increased flow of technical assistance. Much depends on the terms and conditions which Governments and local companies can offer so as to take advantage of this means of drawing on supplies of technical personnel. 13. Many of the present urgent needs must necessarily be satisfied from recruitment by the Government or a public authority, and it is here that the greatest difficulties would seem to arise, particularly when an expert is needed for a longer period than a few months. The Commonwealth Governments have been giving special attention to this problem in considering the development needs of South and South-East Asia. A review of the position has shown that a great deal has been done and is being done by individual Governments and by the United Nations and its Agencies. But the need in the area for trained men is so urgent that greater sacrifices and a greater co-operative effort will be required if the development plans are to be executed economically and speedily. Fortunately there is an increasing awareness of the nature and seriousness of the problem of skilled manpower. Under the " Point Four " programme the United States will, through bilateral arrangements, be in a position to make further assistance available. The United Nations and its Agencies have performed a valuable service in focusing attention on the problems, analysing their nature and suggesting possible solutions. Within the limits of the resources at their disposal; these Agencies have sought to help in applying such solutions, supplementing the efforts of individual Governments to help themselves and the assistance they have been receiving from other Governments on a bilateral basis. The decision to expand the United Nations Technical Assistance Programme and the provision of funds totalling $2O million, of which Commonwealth countries have agreed to contribute approximately one-fifth, should enable the United Nations and its Agencies to increase the range and intensity of their technical assistance work. It is hoped that they will be able to devote special attention to the vital needs of South and South-East Asia and to direct a generous proportion of the increased funds to meet those needs, thus augmenting the valuable work already being done in the area. A Scheme for Technical Co-operation 14. Since the assistance available or at present planned through national and international sources cannot meet all the known needs, the Commonwealth Consultative Committee at its meeting at Sydney in May, 1950, decided to set up a technical assistance scheme to which Commonwealth Governments have agreed to contribute an amount up to a maximum of £8,000,000 over three years. A copy of the Constitution of the Council for Technical Co-operation, the organisation responsible for the scheme, is to be found as Appendix 7to this Report. The scheme is based on the maximum mutual help among the countries in the area and the other participating countries. Assistance is to be provided on a bilateral basis ; this will not, however, exclude joint schemes in which more than two co-operating countries or agencies are participating. 15. The Council will not compete with existing organisations. On the contrary, it is intended that there shall be the fullest co-operation with the United Nations and other agencies providing technical assistance in the area,

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