According toAustralian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, the expansion of the Planreflects the strong support of the country’s partner governments for thePlan’s aims of lifting knowledge of the region for Australian youngpeople.
Experience gained in the process of study in the regionwill ensure that students will make valuable contributions to activitiesof Australia’s business community and to driving economic growth in thecountry and the region in general in the years ahead, Bishop said.
The government has committed 100 million AUD (86 million USD) in new funding over five years to implement the New Colombo Plan.
Apilot phase of the Plan began earlier this year in the two ASEAN membercountries of Indonesia and Singapore, along with two other Asiandestinations of Japan and Hong Kong (China).
From the 1950s tothe mid-1980s, the original Colombo Plan brought tens of thousands ofstudents from Southeast Asia to study in Australia.
All 10 ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to participate in the New Plan.-VNA
Ministry tightens inspection of overseas labour service companies
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