East Asia Summit
The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. The final report of the East Asian Study Group in 2002, established by the ASEAN Plus Three countries, recommended an EAS as an ASEAN led development limited to the ASEAN+3 countries. The 10th ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane on November 29, 2004 agreed to hold the first East Asia Summit (EAS) in Malaysia in 2005. The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) held in Vientiane on July 26, 2005 welcomed the participation of ASEAN, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India in the first EAS. USA and the Russian Federation were formally included as members of the EAS at the 6th EAS held in Bali, Indonesia on November 19, 2011.
The EAS region comprises some of the most dynamic economies and emerging powers in the world. It is a Leaders-led forum for dialogue on broad strategic, geo-political and economic issues of common interest, with the aim of promoting peace, security, stability and economic prosperity. In a relatively short period of time, the EAS has emerged as one of the important dialogue fora in the region.
Seven East Asia Summits have been held so far. The five priority areas for regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS include energy and environment, finance, education, natural disaster management and pandemics. Two more areas, namely, Connectivity and Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) have also been included in the EAS agenda. India has actively contributed to discussions on all the above themes. We continue to maintain an open, extensive and productive exchange of views on regional and international issues, as well as on issues of strategic importance to the East Asia region.
At the 4th EAS held in Thailand on October 24-25, 2009, the EAS Member States issued a Joint Press Statement which, inter-alia, supported the establishment of Nalanda University as a non-state, non-profit, secular and self-governing international institution with a continental focus, that will bring together students from all countries of Asia. At the 5th EAS held in Hanoi on October 30, 2010, Prime Minister made a formal announcement regarding the enactment of the Nalanda University Act by the Indian Parliament and invited EAS member states to participate in the Nalanda University project. As a host country, India has made a significant contribution to the University. The Government of Bihar has provided 446 acres of land free of cost on a 99 year lease. The Government of India and other countries, organizations and individuals have made financial contributions towards the project. At the 6th and 7th EAS, PM informed the Summit that work on the Nalanda University is in progress.
At the 6th EAS held in Bali, Indonesia on November 19, 2011, the Leaders adopted two Declarations, namely the Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations and the Declaration of the 6th East Asia Summit on ASEAN Connectivity. The EAS Declaration on the Principles of Mutually Beneficial Relations recalls commitment of EAS Member States to intensify efforts for cooperation in the priority areas of the EAS and regional economic integration, including the Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA). The EAS Declaration on ASEAN Connectivity supports cooperation between ASEAN and its EAS partners on physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, in particular those relating to education, human resource development, innovation &
entrepreneurship, cultural exchanges and tourism. The 6th EAS supported cooperation amongst member states on non-traditional security threats such as maritime issues, anti- piracy and disaster management and relief as well as long-standing threats such as terrorism. The Leaders also agreed to continue cooperation on sustainable development and climate change issues. Given the fact that EAS brings together some of the world’s most dynamic economies, there was recognition of the role of EAS in promoting sustained economic growth at the regional and global levels.
The 7th East Asia Summit (EAS) was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 20, 2012. The Leaders took note of the progress made in cooperation in the priority areas of the EAS. They emphasised the role of the EAS as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation in politico-security as well as economic issues of common concern. At the 7th EAS, the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) were officially launched.
At the Plenary Session of the 7th EAS, the Leaders adopted two declarations. The Declaration of the 7th EAS on Regional Responses to Malaria Control and Addressing Resistance to Antimalarial Medicines took note of the growing resistance to antimalarial medicines as an emerging public health threat in the Mekong region and beyond and sought to strengthen the national and regional responses to contain resistance to antimalarial medicines with the aim of achieving a 75% reduction (from 2000 baseline) in malaria cases and deaths by 2015. The Leaders also endorsed the Phnom Penh Declaration on the East Asia Summit Development Initiative which calls on the EAS Member States to promote common development through mutual support and cooperation in the six priority areas of the EAS.
At the 6th EAS held on November 19, 2011 in Bali, Indonesia, Prime Minister had announced India's intention of hosting an EAS Workshop in 2012 on Disaster Management and Relief in the case of an earthquake. In fulfillment of PM's announcement, India hosted an 'EAS-India Workshop 2012: Building Regional Framework for Earthquake Risk Management' in New Delhi on November 8-9, 2012. The Workshop was jointly organised by MHA, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and MEA. It was inaugurated by the Home Minister of India. The Workshop drew wide participation from all EAS member countries as well as diverse international organisations dealing with disaster management issues. In addition, a number of international and national experts, practitioners and scholars participated in the Workshop. In the six sessions spread over two days, participants discussed earthquake risk profiles of EAS member countries, lessons learnt from previous experiences, knowledge sharing on technologies and application of mitigation measures, multilateral coordination and support for recovery financing, capacity development challenges and post disaster long term recovery and reconstruction. At the 7th EAS, the Leaders welcomed India's initiative of hosting the “EAS-India Workshop 2012: Building a Regional Framework for Earthquake Risk Management” in New Delhi in November, 2012 and took note of the “Delhi Outcome on Earthquake Risk Reduction in EAS participating countries”.
The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. The final report of the East Asian Study Group in 2002, established by the ASEAN Plus Three countries, recommended an EAS as an ASEAN led development limited to the ASEAN+3 countries. The 10th ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane on November 29, 2004 agreed to hold the first East Asia Summit (EAS) in Malaysia in 2005. The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) held in Vientiane on July 26, 2005 welcomed the participation of ASEAN, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India in the first EAS. USA and the Russian Federation were formally included as members of the EAS at the 6th EAS held in Bali, Indonesia on November 19, 2011.
The EAS region comprises some of the most dynamic economies and emerging powers in the world. It is a Leaders-led forum for dialogue on broad strategic, geo-political and economic issues of common interest, with the aim of promoting peace, security, stability and economic prosperity. In a relatively short period of time, the EAS has emerged as one of the important dialogue fora in the region.
Seven East Asia Summits have been held so far. The five priority areas for regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS include energy and environment, finance, education, natural disaster management and pandemics. Two more areas, namely, Connectivity and Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) have also been included in the EAS agenda. India has actively contributed to discussions on all the above themes. We continue to maintain an open, extensive and productive exchange of views on regional and international issues, as well as on issues of strategic importance to the East Asia region.
At the 4th EAS held in Thailand on October 24-25, 2009, the EAS Member States issued a Joint Press Statement which, inter-alia, supported the establishment of Nalanda University as a non-state, non-profit, secular and self-governing international institution with a continental focus, that will bring together students from all countries of Asia. At the 5th EAS held in Hanoi on October 30, 2010, Prime Minister made a formal announcement regarding the enactment of the Nalanda University Act by the Indian Parliament and invited EAS member states to participate in the Nalanda University project. As a host country, India has made a significant contribution to the University. The Government of Bihar has provided 446 acres of land free of cost on a 99 year lease. The Government of India and other countries, organizations and individuals have made financial contributions towards the project. At the 6th and 7th EAS, PM informed the Summit that work on the Nalanda University is in progress.
At the 6th EAS held in Bali, Indonesia on November 19, 2011, the Leaders adopted two Declarations, namely the Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations and the Declaration of the 6th East Asia Summit on ASEAN Connectivity. The EAS Declaration on the Principles of Mutually Beneficial Relations recalls commitment of EAS Member States to intensify efforts for cooperation in the priority areas of the EAS and regional economic integration, including the Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA). The EAS Declaration on ASEAN Connectivity supports cooperation between ASEAN and its EAS partners on physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, in particular those relating to education, human resource development, innovation &
entrepreneurship, cultural exchanges and tourism. The 6th EAS supported cooperation amongst member states on non-traditional security threats such as maritime issues, anti- piracy and disaster management and relief as well as long-standing threats such as terrorism. The Leaders also agreed to continue cooperation on sustainable development and climate change issues. Given the fact that EAS brings together some of the world’s most dynamic economies, there was recognition of the role of EAS in promoting sustained economic growth at the regional and global levels.
The 7th East Asia Summit (EAS) was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 20, 2012. The Leaders took note of the progress made in cooperation in the priority areas of the EAS. They emphasised the role of the EAS as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation in politico-security as well as economic issues of common concern. At the 7th EAS, the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) were officially launched.
At the Plenary Session of the 7th EAS, the Leaders adopted two declarations. The Declaration of the 7th EAS on Regional Responses to Malaria Control and Addressing Resistance to Antimalarial Medicines took note of the growing resistance to antimalarial medicines as an emerging public health threat in the Mekong region and beyond and sought to strengthen the national and regional responses to contain resistance to antimalarial medicines with the aim of achieving a 75% reduction (from 2000 baseline) in malaria cases and deaths by 2015. The Leaders also endorsed the Phnom Penh Declaration on the East Asia Summit Development Initiative which calls on the EAS Member States to promote common development through mutual support and cooperation in the six priority areas of the EAS.
At the 6th EAS held on November 19, 2011 in Bali, Indonesia, Prime Minister had announced India's intention of hosting an EAS Workshop in 2012 on Disaster Management and Relief in the case of an earthquake. In fulfillment of PM's announcement, India hosted an 'EAS-India Workshop 2012: Building Regional Framework for Earthquake Risk Management' in New Delhi on November 8-9, 2012. The Workshop was jointly organised by MHA, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and MEA. It was inaugurated by the Home Minister of India. The Workshop drew wide participation from all EAS member countries as well as diverse international organisations dealing with disaster management issues. In addition, a number of international and national experts, practitioners and scholars participated in the Workshop. In the six sessions spread over two days, participants discussed earthquake risk profiles of EAS member countries, lessons learnt from previous experiences, knowledge sharing on technologies and application of mitigation measures, multilateral coordination and support for recovery financing, capacity development challenges and post disaster long term recovery and reconstruction. At the 7th EAS, the Leaders welcomed India's initiative of hosting the “EAS-India Workshop 2012: Building a Regional Framework for Earthquake Risk Management” in New Delhi in November, 2012 and took note of the “Delhi Outcome on Earthquake Risk Reduction in EAS participating countries”.
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