Q. Why is this in news ?
Recently, the 8th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) was held virtually and attended by ASEAN members and eight other nations, including India, the USA, and China.
- The meeting highlighted the importance of strengthening regional supply chains to make them resilient in times of heightened challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and to spur economic growth.
Q. What are the outcomes of this meeting ?
- Any trade-restrictive emergency measures put in place to address the impact of Covid-19 must be targeted, proportionate, transparent, temporary, consistent with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and do not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption of global and regional supply chains.
- Support for the necessary reforms in the WTO and pledge to continue to work together to realise a free, fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, predictable, and stable trade environment.
- Facilitating the essential movement of people across borders, without undermining each country’s efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and to stabilise the trade and investment.
- Commitment to facilitate supply chain connectivity, including for essential goods such as medical supplies, medicines, including vaccines, food, commodities and other essential supplies and services in the region.
- Harness the opportunities of the digital economy to overcome the challenges posed by restricted movement.
Q. What is India’s Stand?
India highlighted its Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan which is about upscaling the growth of Indian industry, its skills and capabilities to make them resilient and less vulnerable to shocks and integrating Indian industries with the global supply chains.
Q. What is East Asia Summit?
- Established in 2005, it is a forum of 18 regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the key political, security, and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
- The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad.
- India is one of the founding members of the East Asia Summit.
Q. Which all nations are member of EAS?
- It comprises the ten member states of the ASEAN which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, along with 8 other countries namely Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA.
- It is an ASEAN-centred forum so it can only be chaired by an ASEAN member.
