The 44th Consultative Committee meeting of Colombo Plan will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 9-10.

Nepali Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahendra Pandey will inaugurate the two-day conference which will be attended by representatives of the member states with a dozen observer nations.

It will review various aspects of cooperation between its member states under Colombo Plan and formulate strategies for future cooperation, Deepak Dhital, head of UN division at the Nepali Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told Himalayan Times.

Colombo Plan is one of the first regional organisations formed to enhance technical as well as socio-economic cooperation mainly in the Asia-Pacific region.

The organisation was set up in 1950 and has 27 member states, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Brunei and the USA. Colombo Plan Secretariat is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The objectives of the meeting include enhancing cooperation among member states in various areas such as economic and social development, sharing of best practices and experiences in technical sectors as well as transferring the technology from developed countries to the developing and least developed ones.