ICC participated in the "Otagai Forum", an international conference for industrial development between Japan and Thailand or ASEAN countries.

ICC Director Kiyoshi Uzawa attended the opening ceremony of the 22nd Otagai Forum held on February 2 in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and presented a proposal for mutual cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Industry to strengthen the composites industry through collaboration with Thailand. During the panel discussion, Mr. Yoshihiro Saito, ICC project coordinator, introduced the increasing use of plant-derived materials in the composites industry due to recent environmental concerns, and emphasized the importance of future collaboration with Thailand. In order to realize a sustainable society, ICC expects to promote the development of application technologies of natural fiber composites and the establishment of supply chains as one of its priority themes, in cooperation with Thailand.