22/7 Tass 239
BALI ISLAND, July 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Leaders of Russia and the USA will participate in the summit meeting mechanism of the East Asian summits, due in November on Bali, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
“The ministerial meeting has discussed preparations for the upcoming EAC /East Asian Community/ summit,” he said. “Russia and the USA joined this mechanism last year, our leaders will participate in the EAC summit in November of the current year on Bali.”
After Russia and the USA’s joining /in 2011/, all EAC participants expressed interest in discussing political and security issues, Lavrov said. He expressed satisfaction with Russia’s initial experience in the EAC.
“This is a very promising format, which has united major players of the Asia-Pacific Region, and it may become an important mechanism to work out agreements,” he said.
“One of priority aspects of today’s meeting were problems of non-proliferation /of nuclear missiles/,” he continued. “We have agreed to improve cooperation in security at seas in connection with the problem of piracy.”
Lavrov added that the Russian delegation highlighted to the participants in the meeting the idea of indivisibility of security.
Russia and the USA today for the first time participated together at a ministerial meeting of the EAC as full-format members. The decision to invite Russia and United States join the mechanism of East Asian forum was adopted by the ASEAN 16th summit in Hanoi in spring 2010. Later on, at the EAC 5th summit, also in Hanoi in late October of 2010, Moscow and Washington received official invitations to become members of the East Asian Community.
The EAC’s first summit was organised in December of 2005 in Malaysia. It was founded by 16 countries – ten ASEAN countries and six other countries of the Asia-Pacific Region – Australia, India, China, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan. The major objectives of the new regional forum were announced to be promotion of peace, stability and economic well-being of East Asia. The EAC member-countries work actively to guarantee financial stability in the region, support energy security and promote economic integration.
Joining of Russia and the USA to the EAC, as experts say, will add more options for the structure to solve regional and global problems and will provide favourable conditions for expanding multilateral cooperation for the benefit of the world and development in the region and far beyond its territory.