On 26 May, the office bearers of all ICA-AP Committees convened for a joint meeting to share updates on their activities in 2025 and outline plans for the rest of the year, with a special focus on events aligned with the upcoming Regional Assembly.

Mr. Balu Iyer, ICA-AP Regional Director, opened the meeting with key updates from the regional office. He highlighted the key details of the new ICA-AP strategy the office is developing, progress under the ICA-EU Partnership across various work streams, and shared developments for the Cooperative Forum and Regional Assembly scheduled from 24 to 28 November 2025 in Sri Lanka.

Each committee presented its ongoing initiatives and upcoming plans:

• The Youth Committee shared details of their upcoming event for young cooperators in Thailand, supported by UNRISD, and a youth workshop and office bearer elections to be held during the Regional Assembly.
• The Education Committee announced an upcoming webinar on university cooperatives as leadership incubators, a reels competition. During the regional assembly, they plan to convene their annual statutory meeting and committee elections.
• The Research Committee plans to continue its cooperative colloquium series and host its annual research conference as a pre-event to the Regional Assembly, alongside committee elections.
• The Women’s Committee presented their ongoing study on gender-based policies in cooperatives across seven countries, and upcoming initiatives on emotional wellness, climate change (ToT), and a joint seminar with the Trade & Business Committee during the regional assembly.
• The Consumer Committee reported a change in office bearers and discussed planned activities, including a training in Japan, a regional workshop, and their statutory meeting in November.
• The Credit & Banking Committee released a snapshot on credit and banking cooperatives in Asia-Pacific, with plans for webinars, an exposure visit to India, and a seminar at the regional assembly and committee elections.
• The Agriculture & Environment Committee shared plans for a joint webinar with the Credit & Banking Committee, a tree plantation initiative, and a seminar with NEDAC during the Regional Assembly, along with committee elections.

In his closing remarks, the ICA-AP President thanked all the committees for their hard work and appreciated the efforts they have made so far. He said he is excited to see their activities during the Regional Assembly. Mr. Iyer also praised the committees for working together and said he is hopeful that all their plans will be successfully carried out in the coming months.