The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) organized the 35th NEAT Country Coordinators’ meeting (NEAT CCM) virtually via Zoom in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 27th April 2022 under the chairmanship of the Institute of Foreign Affairs of Laos (NEAT-Laos).

His Excellency Thongphane SAVANPHET, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR attended and delivered a keynote speech at the inaugural session of the 35th NEAT CCM. Each session was moderated by Amb. Mai SAYAVONGS, Director General of the Institute of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was attended by NEAT country coordinators namely Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, (Myanmar did not attend the meeting) and scholars from 12 member institutes. The meeting recapped the outcomes of NEAT activities in 2021 while planning for 2022 activities. Six NEAT members including NEAT-China, NEAT-Japan, NEAT-Korea, NEAT-Laos, NEAT-Philippine and NEAT-Vietnam agreed to hold six working group meetings this year under the following themes: 1) Deepening APT Third-Party Market Cooperation, 2) Regional Cooperation to Achieve Carbon Neutrality in East Asia, 3) The sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Socio-Economic Recovery and Growth in the Mist of the pandemic, 5) Strategic Communication Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic: ASEAN Plus Three Countries(APT) Experience, Best Practices and Way forward and 6) Digital Transformation as a New Driver for Socio-economic Development respectively during May to July 2022.