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Lavrov to represent Russia at East Asian summit in Bali Sat

Moscow "is ready to cooperate on five groups of themes on EAC agenda: finance, energy, health, education, and emergency response"

BALI, Indonesia, November 19 (Itar-Tass) —— The Indonesian island of Bali has recovered from the strong earthquake that hit it in October and the participants in the 6th East Asian summit of the heads of state and government on Saturday will enjoy calm and sunny weather.

On instructions from president Dmitry Medvedev Russia will be represented at the summit by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

For Russia, this is the first full-fledged participation in the East Asian Community Forum (EAC). Moscow officially joined the structure simultaneously with Washington in 2010. Sergei Lavrov took part in the previous summit as a special guest.

"The agenda of the meeting in Bali includes a discussion of the status and further development of cooperation within the EAC, as well as topical international and regional issues," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told Itar-Tass.

Moscow, he said, "is ready to cooperate on five groups of themes on EAC agenda: finance, energy, health, education, and emergency response."

"This will make active use of our expertise in areas such as energy security, nuclear energy, and prevention and mitigation of effects of natural disasters," said the diplomat.

Russia's participation in the forum, according to experts, will contribute to efforts aimed at the modernization and innovative development of the country and socio-economic growth of Siberia and the Far East.

Observers say that the countries of East and Southeast Asia participating in the EAS are the world’s leaders today in terms of economic growth, the growth of industrial exports and international reserves. Therefore, cooperation within the framework of this format looks still more crucial in the context of global financial instability.

Lukashevich drew special attention to the fact that Russia considers the EAC "as an important tool for the formation of a comprehensive, balanced and open security architecture in Asia-Pacific region, able to effectively resist challenges and threats common to all states in the region."

The main result of the Bali meeting will be a declaration of principles of mutually beneficial relations. As it has become known to journalists, it will emphasize the commitment to the non-use force, as well as the recognition of cultural and ethnic diversity of the region.

At present the EAC includes ten ASEAN countries, as well as Australia, India, China, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the United States and Japan. The very mechanism of the interaction within the Community was established in 2005 at the initiative of ASEAN with a view to strengthening peace, stability and economic prosperity in the Asia-Pacific Region.

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