International Convention Centre, Brunei Darussalam
10 October 2013
President Benigno S. Aquino III and the rest of the ASEAN Leaders were joined by the East Asia Summit participating countries composed of Australia, People’s Republic of China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the United States of America in the 8th East Asia Summit (EAS) as day two of the 23rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits continued in Brunei Darussalam.
Representing U.S. President Barack Obama in the summit is Secretary of State John Kerry while Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov attended on behalf of President Vladimir Putin.
In his opening remarks, His Majesty the Sultan highlighted key initiatives that need to be pursued such as food security, information sharing, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), disaster management, environmental protection, climate change and maritime cooperation.
During the summit, the leaders reaffirmed the principles, objectives and modalities of the EAS as stipulated in the 2005 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the EAS and in the 2010 Ha Noi Declaration on the Commemoration of the 5th Anniversary of the EAS that underlined the common vision of the EAS as a Leaders-led forum for dialogue and cooperation on issues of strategic importance to the region – political, security, economic and development – to further promote peace, stability, economic prosperity and integration in East Asia.
Moreover, the leaders reaffirmed ASEAN’s central role in the EAS and ASEAN’s commitment to work in close partnership with all EAS participating countries so as to ensure that EAS would continue to be an important integral component of the emerging regional architecture.
The Heads of State/Government also welcomed the progress of cooperation in the EAS, particularly in the six priority areas – energy and environment, education, finance, disaster management, global health issues and pandemic diseases, and ASEAN Connectivity.
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