# Bhutan Joins the Colombo Plan (1962)

URL: https://allhistories.com/bhutan/timeline/1962-bhutan-joins-the-colombo-plan
Location: Thimphu, Bhutan
Themes: main-event

Bhutan joined the Colombo Plan in 1962, according to the membership table in Wikipedia's article on the organisation. The plan had begun operations on 1 July 1951 after a conference in Colombo in January 1950, and it focuses on human resource development in South and Southeast Asia through South–South cooperation. For Bhutan, membership was the first multilateral organisation it joined, and it came one year after the start of the First Five-Year Plan. It gave Bhutanese officials access to training places and technical assistance in other Asian countries at a time when the country had very few trained administrators, engineers or teachers. Membership also marked a step away from complete isolation, though India remained the main source of funds. In 1969 Bhutan joined the Universal Postal Union and in 1971 it was admitted to the United Nations. A Bhutanese, Kinley Dorji, served as the plan's Secretary-General between 2014 and 2018. At this point in the timeline (1962), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (30 March 1952 – 21 July 1972), Druk Gyalpo, ruled the Kingdom of Bhutan as hereditary king and head of state; Samten Pelzang (1961 – 1965) was Je Khenpo, the chief abbot of the central monastic body; Jigme Ngawang Namgyal (Zhabdrung mind incarnation), lifespan 1955 – 2003, is recorded as a Zhabdrung incarnation, a religious figure normally without civil office; Lonchen Jigme Palden Dorji (1952 – 6 April 1964) led the government.

## Why it matters
It was Bhutan's first step into international organisations, preceding the Universal Postal Union and the United Nations.

Ruler at the Time: [Jigme Dorji Wangchuck](https://allhistories.com/bhutan/rulers/jigme-dorji-wangchuck-1952)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Colombo Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombo_Plan)
- [Wikipedia — Thimphu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thimphu)