RIS is organizing a High-Level Conference on Asian Economic Integration in collaboration with Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore; and the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), Tokyo, on 12-13 November 2007 in New Delhi to contribute to the process of regional economic integration in Asia and to provide inputs for the forthcoming Third East Asia Summit.

Prime Minister will be participating in the Third East Asia Summit (EAS) scheduled to take place in Singapore on 21st November 2007 along with leaders of 10 ASEAN countries, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The EAS was launched in December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur as an annual forum for dialogue on regional issues. At the Second EAS held in Cebu on 15th January 2007, Leaders decided to move forward on the regional cooperation agenda in five select sectors, namely, education, energy, natural disaster mitigation, avian flu; finance and launch a track-II feasibility study of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Arrangement of East Asia (CEPAEA) bringing together the 16 member countries of EAS. They also endorsed establishment of a regional economic think-tank called Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). The Third Summit will take stock of the cooperation in the group areas and advance it further.

The EAS forum has a special significance for India. India is engaging ASEAN, China, Japan, Korea and Australia and New Zealand as a part of its Look-East Policy. Currently negotiations for trade agreements/comprehensive economic partnership agreements are on with ASEAN, Japan and South Korea and similar arrangements are under consideration with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand. A comprehensive economic cooperation agreement with Singapore has already been signed and early harvest scheme of an arrangement with Thailand is operational.

India tends to view these arrangements as building block of a broader Asian grouping. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has spoken of his vision of an Asian Economic Community bringing together Japan, ASEAN, China, India and Korea (JACIK) as an ‘arc of advantage’. EAS brings together all these countries and Australia and New Zealand and hence could be an appropriate forum for giving effect to this vision.

This vision of broader regional cooperation and the potential challenges and road maps will be discussed by leading experts from a number of Asian countries at the High-Level Conference on Asian Economic Integration organized by RIS on 12-13 November. The Conference is Sixth in a series of high-level conferences launched by RIS in March 2003. It was at the first high-level conference in March 2003 held in New Delhi that the vision of an Asian Economic Community to begin with JACIK countries was first discussed. The subsequent conferences have been organized in Tokyo, Taiyuan (People’s Republic of China) and Singapore. These Conferences bring heads of a number of prominent think-tanks in EAS member countries to discuss the issues concerning broader regional cooperation in Asia.

The Conference will discuss the economic and strategic relevance of Asian economic integration in the EAS framework and the specific issues concerning trade and investment, money and finance. It will also discuss a business perspective on the emerging comprehensive economic partnership of EAS countries. Among the distinguished participants from abroad, include Dr. Hidetoshi Nishimura, Special Advisor to IDE President on ERIA, IDE/JETRO, Tokyo; Ambassador K. Kesavapany, Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, Dr. Josef T. Yap, President, Philippine Institute of Development Studies, Dr. Brian Lynch, Director of New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, among others.

From India, it is likely to be addressed by the External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Jairam Ramesh, Commerce Secretary Mr Gopal Pillai, Secretary (East) MEA Mr N. Ravi, Adviser to Finance Minister Dr Parthasarathi Shome, Chairman RIS Dr Arjun Sengupta, M.P., CMD of Exim Bank of India T.C. Venkat Subramanian, Director-General RIS Dr Nagesh Kumar, among a number of others.

The conference taking place on the eve of the Third EAS hopes to feed to the process. RIS hopes to present the report and recommendations coming out of the Conference to the government as well as to the Chair of the EAS, namely, the Singapore government through its partner, namely, Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS) and to the Japanese government through IDE/Jetro.