15th East Asia Summit

News: India’s External Affairs Minister has represented India at the 15th East Asia Summit(EAS).

Facts:

• The summit was chaired by the Prime Minister of Vietnam.
• During the summit, countries adopted the Ha Noi Declaration and discussed ways to strengthen the EAS platform and make it more responsive to emerging challenges.

Additional Facts:

• East Asia Summit: It was established in 2005.It is a premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region dealing with issues relating to security and defence.
• Members: It comprises the ten member states of the ASEAN countries along with 8 members Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.
• Priority Areas: There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS which are a) Environment and Energy b) Education c) Finance d) Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases e) Natural Disaster Management and f) ASEAN Connectivity.
• Significance: The members of the EAS together represent 54% of the world population and account for 58% of the global GDP.

Read Also :MAINS QUESTION BANK AND ANSWERS for UPSC