It was established in Sydney in 1963 and the first congress was held in 1968 in Mumbai[1] at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
In 1961, the ILAR, International League of Associations of Rheumatology, authorised two Australian rheumatologists to initiate a regional league for Asia Pacific and the organisation, then called SEAPAL was founded in 1963 with four member nations, namely Australia, India, New Zealand and Japan with Dr S Nelson of Australia as the founder President.
APLAR is a confederation of individual Rheumatology Associations that represent different countries of the Asia-Pacific.
APLAR is actively involved in promoting and nurturing national rheumatology societies in countries where rheumatologists are scarce.
The most important activity of APLAR is the Annual Congress that is held in different Asian cities every year.