[CA/ECON] EAS 2019

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.