The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Oceanian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. Membership expanded to 18 countries including Russia and the United States at the Sixth EAS in 2011. Since its establishment, ASEAN has held the central role and leadership in the forum. EAS meetings are held after the annual ASEAN leaders' meetings, and plays an important role in the regional architecture of Asia-Pacific. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.
Image: Anthony Albanese portrait (cropped)
Image: His Majesty Bolkiah 20231216
Image: Hun Manet 2023
Image: Chinese Premier Li Qiang May 2023
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly as ASEAN, is a political and economic union of 10 states in Southeast Asia. Together, its member states represent a population of over 600 million over a land area of 4.5 million km2 (1.7 million sq mi). The bloc generated a purchasing power parity (PPP) gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$10.2 trillion in 2022, constituting approximately 6.5% of global GDP (PPP). ASEAN member states include some of the fastest growing economies in the world.
ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta
ASEAN leaders sign the declaration of the ASEAN Economic Community during the 27th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, 2015
ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 - Traditional Vietnam woman cloth parade
Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam at the ASEAN Tourism Awards 2019 in Ha Long Bay