New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Over 150 delegates from 26 member countries of the Colombo Plan will meet here Wednesday and Thursday to boost economic ties in South and South-East Asian region.

India, which is hosting the Consultative Committee Meeting (CCM) of the Colombo Plan for the third time ever since its inception in January 1950, will be inaugurated by Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

India had earlier hosted the CCM in 1953 and 1972.

'Colombo Plan is a collaborative effort of nations to bring about the well-being of people through self-help and mutual-help of countries in the region,' the government said in a statement adding that the purpose of the Colombo Plan is co-operative economic development in South and South-East Asia.

Over the years, the Colombo Plan grew from the group of seven Commonwealth nations - Australia, Britain, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand and Pakistan - into an international organisation of 26, including non-commonwealth nations.

It also includes countries like the US, Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.