East Asia Summit

Simply, the EAS is an ASEAN initiative and refers to the annual Meeting of Heads of States/Governments of these countries, where they are able to discuss common concerns and interests.
Beginning in 2005, 16 participating countries comprised EAS, with their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
These members were the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.
ASEAN’s 10 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The United States and the Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in 2011.

Why was it created?

Its creation was based on the idea of enhancing cooperation among East Asian countries and those in the neighbouring regions.
Six priority areas of cooperation were identified – environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management, and ASEAN Connectivity.

The following issues have been discussed by the countries

This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
In a joint statement, ASEAN-India acknowledged the deep civilizational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges between Southeast Asia and India.
All these have grown stronger over the last 30 years, providing a strong foundation for ASEAN-India relations.

India has announced an additional contribution of USD 5 million to the ASEAN-India science and technology fund.
It would enhance cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy and smart agriculture.

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