Economic ministers of the ASEAN
and East Asia Summit (EAS) countries have reiterated their previous
commitment to further economic integration in East Asia and the Asia
Pacific region at their second meeting held in Myanmar on August 27.
In a joint statement released at the end of meeting, the
ministers stated that they would continue to work closely within the EAS
framework not only to achieve their respective economic integration
objectives and contribute to regional economic resilience, but also for
EAS to contribute to global stability and prosperity.
The
ministers called for sustaining the achievements from their economic
integration efforts especially in light of a global economy still
recovering from its slowdown.
They emphasized the importance of
prioritising cooperative efforts between ASEAN and EAS partners to
facilitate the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)’s goal and further
integration of ASEAN with the wider region.
At the same time,
they pointed to the need to identify areas for prioritised cooperation
with focus towards 2015 and beyond.
According to ASEAN
statistics, ASEAN’s total trade with the non-ASEAN EAS countries
expanded by 1.6 percent from 1,082.1 billion USD in 2012 to 1,099
billion USD in 2013.
The 2nd EAS Economic Minister Meeting
was held as part of a meeting series of the 46th ASEAN Economic
Ministers Meeting (AEM), which are taking place in Myanmar from August
25 to 28.
ASEAN EAS partner countries comprise Australia,
China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the
United States.-VNA