At the East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Vientiane on 11 October, representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, including deepening economic and cultural cooperation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the Russian delegation at the meeting. He reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the formation of a single “seamless” space for joint development in Eurasia by combining the potential of such multilateral mechanisms as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and ASEAN. 

In his speech at the end of the summit, the Minister emphasised that Russia welcomes the desire of some ASEAN countries to get closer to BRICS. According to him, a number of states of BRICS have accepted invitations to the summit of the group in Kazan, which will be held on 22-24 October. It is known that the meeting will be attended by representatives of Vietnam, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

“We have no doubt that the approaches being developed within the BRICS framework to various agenda issues may well be of interest to the participants of the East Asian summits, especially the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations”

Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister

India was represented at the EAS by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He described the summit as an important pillar for India’s “Act East” policy aimed at deepening ties with ASEAN, as reported by
ANI, a partner of TV BRICS. The Prime Minister also spoke about the country’s success in revitalising the ancient Nalanda University, which began with the agreement at the EAS in 2010.

During his visit to Laos, he also attended the India-ASEAN summit. There, Modi presented a 10-point plan to strengthen ties between the association and the republic. It includes renegotiating trade agreements, undertaking various environmental activities, strengthening health cooperation, creating a dialogue on cyber security, and declaring 2025 as the ASEAN-India Tourism Year.

In addition, Li Qiang Chinese Premier attended the East Asia Summit. In his speech, he emphasised that equality, mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation play a fundamental role in the development of Asia.

Li Qiang said China is ready to actively implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI) proposed in 2021 by Chinese President Xi Jinping together with its partners, as well as increase investment in green transformation, digital economy and other important areas for Asian countries to ensure beneficial inclusive development for all. In addition, he called for accelerating the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

The EAS has been held annually since 2005 in conjunction with ASEAN meetings. Initially, 16 nations took part, but two more countries, including Russia, later joined the summit in 2011.

Photo:
Xinhua News Agency