In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), members of Asia Pacific region organized a successful panel discussion at the main celebration event in Trieste on July 12, 2022. The panelists were William J. Munro (NTT, Japan), Xiaoyen Shen, Venu Gopal Achanta (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research), Junichi Yokoyama (President, AAPPS and University of Tokyo). Below are some of the key points that emerged from the Panel discussion in Trieste. (Fig. 2).

The discussion is restricted to just four topics which reflected major priority areas of Asia–Pacific region. But certainly the list was clearly not exhaustive by any means. To address that the following steps are token and below are some of the observations and recommendations,

• Mihoko had organized a virtual pre-Panel discussion lasting 90 min to give representation to the physical societies/regions that could not be accommodated in the Panel discussion in Trieste. We believe that the IUPAP100 has definitely made a big impact in the physics community in the AP region which needs to be sustained and harnessed through continued engagement and interaction through conferences/meetings.

• Given the reality of huge diversity in the level of physics education and research in this region, the support of the IUPAP EC would be absolutely critical in maintaining the momentum generated during IUPAP100.

• It has been observed that in several instances what the less developed regions lack in terms of physics infrastructure they make it up through strong commitment and drive. And therefore, a little help from the IUPAP would go a long way in sustaining and growing the physics infrastructure in those regions.

• There is also a varying degree of realization in many of the countries/regions that R&D and education in physics could be a major catalyst in the growth of their economies.

• Unfortunately, due to historical and geopolitical reasons the exchange of physicists or any collaboration among physicists in the AP region has been woefully short of what is required.

Therefore, the immediate recommendations are as follows:

• Utilize the momentum generated by IUPAP100 to develop an IUPAP (Asia–Pacific) website which is linked to the main IUPAP website. The current status is that the vendor for the development of IUPAP-AP site has been identified and approval of EC obtained for awarding contract. The partial payment to the web development company is being processed. Once that happens we would proceed with this activity.

• Foster close links with AAPS to better network physics community in AP region.

• Use the IUPAP-AP site to enable physicists in this region to organize virtual conferences with IUPAP sponsorship which obviate the need for travel which is very difficult for geopolitical and financial reasons.

• Encourage use of Indico to facilitate the hosting of these virtual conferences with emphasis on gender and geographical balance.

• Seek out the participation of eminent physicists from across the world by leveraging IUPAP sponsorship.

• Given the massive population and demographics the growth of physics in the AP region would be very important for the global development of physics.

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