East Asia Summit (EAS) 2019 was held in Bangkok.
About East Asia Summit:
·
EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the
centrality of ASEAN.
·
It is a forum held annually by leaders of 18 countries in the
East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian regions.
·
EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings.
·
The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14
December 2005.
·
There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the
framework of the EAS. These are – Environment and Energy, Education, Finance,
Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management, and
ASEAN Connectivity. India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority
areas.
Ø EAS, representing
nearly 50 per cent of the world’s population and over 20 per cent of global
trade, is a mega gathering and is a testimony to the rise of Asia.
Ø EAS is a region of
strong and fast growing economies. It is considered the third pole of world
economy after the US and Europe. Its four major economic players namely Japan,
China, India and Korea are among the twelve largest ranking global economies.
Ø Financial and
monetary cooperation between ASEAN+6 or EAS countries could be an area of
fruitful cooperation in view of the fact that their combined foreign exchange
reserves exceed $ 3 trillion.
