Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean has announced that Australia will contribute 1 million AUD to the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to strengthen research on regional economic integration.

The funding will focus on the Institute’s research into the important structural reforms needed to rebalance Asia ’s growth away from exports and towards domestic demand, according to a media release by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on November 13.

In its May regional outlook, the International Monetary Fund highlighted Asia ’s need to rebalance growth in order to return to pre-crisis growth rates.

The extra funding from Australia will also be used to support research into the regional benefits of the convergence of ASEAN’s Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Australia and New Zealand , China , India , Japan and the Republic of Korea .

Minister Simon Crean announced the new funding while in Singapore to attend the 21st annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting. He said Australia ’s contribution to ERIA will help unlock the considerable trade potential of the East Asian region – a process which is critical to Australia ’s continuing prosperity.

ERIA was established by the East Asia Summit (EAS) in November 2007. The institute conducts research in support of EAS initiatives, including deepening economic integration, narrowing development gaps and creating sustainable economic development./.