The Science Council of Japan hosted the Asian Conference on Scientific Cooperation (ACSC) in Tokyo a total of eight times from 1993 to 2000 with the aim of promoting cooperation in scientific research among Asian countries. Invited to the conference were leading scientists from Japan, China, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. As scientists from these ten countries developed trust through their participation in the ACSC, they came to recognize the necessity of transforming the ACSC into a permanent and independent entity to pool the wisdom of the scientists from this region and communicate the results of their research to the rest of the world. Such a framework would help the region more actively address the diverse and urgent science-related issues common to Asian countries, including population problems, medical care, food, water, energy, and knowledge of and education in the sciences.
The ACSC completed its mission at its eighth meeting held in May 2000, when representatives from the ten countries established a new scientific organization named the Science Council of Asia (SCA). The first SCA conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in May 2001.
The annual SCA conference is held on a rotational basis so that each member country/region can actively participate in and contribute to the SCA. The annual conference consists of a General Assembly, a Management Board Meeting, and a Symposium which provides for discussions among scientists, engineers, policymakers, and students from Asia.
Mongolia joined the SCA in 2004 and Bangladesh joined in 2011, followed by Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka in 2012, China:Taipei in 2014, and Pakistan in 2015. As of December 2021, the SCA is comprised of 31 member organizations from 18 countries/region in Asia.
May 2000 - May 2001 | Prof. Dr. Montri Chulavatnatol Vice President, Thai Academy of Science and Technology(TAST) |
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May 2001 - May 2002 | Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Omar Abdul Rahman Past President, Academy of Sciences of Malaysia(ASM) |
May 2002 - May 2003 | Dr. Ir. S. Suparka Vice Chairman, Indonesian Institute of Sciences(LIPI) |
May 2003 - May 2004 | Prof. Dr. Ho Wang Lee President, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea(NAS) |
May 2004 - May 2005 | Mr. Thach Can Director General, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Science and Technology(MOST), Vietnam |
May 2005 - April 2006 | Prof. Andre Beteille Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research(ICSSR) |
April 2006-September 2006 | Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa President, Science Council of Japan(SCJ) |
October 2006-June2007 | Prof. Ichiro Kanazawa President, Science Council of Japan(SCJ) |
June 2007 - May 2008 | Prof. Feng Changgen Executive Secretary, China Association for Science and Technology(CAST) |
May 2008- June 2009 | Prof. Hong Wang Jin Deputy Director, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore |
June 2009- June 2010 | Dr. Jaime C. Montoya President, National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), The Philippines |
June 2010- July 2011 | Prof. Batbold Enkhtuvshin President, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS), Mongolia |
July 2011- July 2012 | Prof. Dr. Lukman Hakim Chairman, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) |
July 2012- June 2014 | Dr. Mohd Nordin Hasan Fellow, Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) |
June 2014- June 2016 | Prof. Vijaya Kumar President, National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka (NASSL) |
June 2016- February 2018 | Prof. Aminul Islam President, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) |
February 2018- December 2018 | Prof. Dr. Quazi Abdul Fattah President, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) |
December 2018- May 2021 | Prof. Wang Xi Vice President, Chinese Association for Science and Technology(CAST) |
May 2021- October 2023 | Prof. Jang Moo Lee President, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea (NAS) |
October 2023 - Present | Prof. Muhammad Aslam Baig Secretary General, Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) |