From July 11st to July 15th, 2025 – AIT Belt and Road Research Center and Chongqing Renewable Energy Society(CRES) organized the fourth Green Industry Innovation and Development Exchange program & The 3rd International Forum on Regional Cooperation for Green and Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas in Chengdu and Chongqing, southwest China. The AIT alumni delegation visited Chongqing and marked another significant milestone in the growing green energy partnership between China and Southeast Asian nations. The week-long visit demonstrated sustained momentum in regional sustainable development cooperation.
The delegation, comprising seven alumni representatives from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Nepal, participated in the “3rd International Forum on Green Mountain Sustainable Development and Regional Cooperation” first in Chengdu, China. Notably, the group included 92-year-old Dr. Subin Pinkayan, the former Foreign Minister of Thailand and former Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, who also serves as the Honorary Advisor to the AIT Board Chairman who made his second consecutive visit to Chongqing, and Mr. Bounleuth, President of the Laos Alumni Association, alongside first-time participants from Myanmar and Vietnam alumni associations.
The visit featured a special “AIT Alumni Roundtable” where entrepreneurs and experts shared valuable insights on green energy development, technological cooperation, and youth engagement. Beyond the main forum, delegates engaged in green technology matchmaking sessions, business discussions, and visited multiple green enterprises in Chongqing, gaining firsthand experience of China’s low-carbon transformation practices in mountainous urban environments.
This visit continues the partnership established through the 2023 MOU between CRES and AIT, which has now facilitated 18 alumni visits to China and four delegation exchanges totaling over 40 participants from ten countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, India, Nepal, Canada, and Bangladesh.
Building on the success of these exchanges, the partners are actively exploring practical opportunities collaborations in rooftop solar, energy storage, e-mobility, and carbon markets, representing a strategic evolution from dialogue to concrete collaboration. Future collaboration will aim to establish a long-term clean energy cooperation mechanism for South and Southeast Asia, further solidifying the network between alumni, enterprises, and international organizations.
This growing partnership exemplifies the successful integration of academia, industry, and policy stakeholders in addressing regional sustainability challenges, while creating tangible opportunities for green technology transfer and low-carbon development across participating countries.
