Economic ministers of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit (EAS) countries have reiterated their previous commitment to further economic integration in East Asia and the Asia Pacific region at their second meeting held in Myanmar on August 27.

In a joint statement released at the end of meeting, the ministers stated that they would continue to work closely within the EAS framework not only to achieve their respective economic integration objectives and contribute to regional economic resilience, but also for EAS to contribute to global stability and prosperity.

The ministers called for sustaining the achievements from their economic integration efforts especially in light of a global economy still recovering from its slowdown.

They emphasized the importance of prioritising cooperative efforts between ASEAN and EAS partners to facilitate the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)’s goal and further integration of ASEAN with the wider region.

At the same time, they pointed to the need to identify areas for prioritised cooperation with focus towards 2015 and beyond.

According to ASEAN statistics, ASEAN's total trade with the non-ASEAN EAS countries expanded by 1.6 percent from 1,082.1 billion USD in 2012 to 1,099 billion USD in 2013.

The 2nd EAS Economic Minister Meeting was held as part of a meeting series of the 46th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM), which are taking place in Myanmar from August 25 to 28.

ASEAN EAS partner countries comprise Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.-VNA