Chairman’s Statement of the 18th East Asia Summit
The 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 7 September 2023. The Summit was chaired by H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia. The Summit was attended by ASEAN Member States, Australia, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Russian Federation, and the United States of America (U.S.), as well as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as an Observer. The Secretary-General of ASEAN was also in attendance. The Chairs of the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the Pacific Islands Forum, as Guests of the Chair, briefed the 18th EAS on their perspectives on the regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific and its contributions to economic growth.
From the review and future direction of the EAS on global health issues and pandemic diseases, the Meeting reaffirmed the role of EAS cooperation in mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing and responding to future health threats. We acknowledged the support and contribution of the EAS participating countries to the ASEAN Member States and ASEAN’s initiatives in addressing COVID-19, among others, the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED); the COVID-19 and Other Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases ASEAN Response Fund; the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies for Public Health Emergencies (RRMS); and the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and its Implementation Plan with the support of ASEAN Centres. The Meeting expressed support in scaling up, sustaining, and exploring complementarity of areas of cooperation between these and other ASEAN-led mechanisms and initiatives, including enhancing efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), strengthening coordination between finance and health authorities, that enhance ASEAN’s capacity and capability to better prepare, prevent, detect, and respond to all hazards and emerging and resurgent health threats.
The Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) contributes to the ASEAN Response Funda and supported the ACPHEED with the Detailed Design and Preparation Support for the “ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases” project which was completed in December 2022.
Read full statement here.
