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East Asia summit calls for joint efforts to combat impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The sides "decided to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through open, inclusive, nondiscriminatory and transparent efforts; upholding multilateralism; and enhancing international and multi-stakeholder cooperation"

SINGAPORE, October 27. /TASS/. Participants of the East Asia Summit (EAS) have agreed to handle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through open efforts and to enhance multilateral cooperation, according to the Statement on Sustainable Recovery adopted on Wednesday by the EAS summit held as a videoconference.

The sides "decided to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through open, inclusive, nondiscriminatory and transparent efforts; upholding multilateralism; and enhancing international and multi-stakeholder cooperation," the statement says.

The leaders agreed to "support ASEAN [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] in its efforts to conserve, protect, and advocate for the sustainable use of biodiversity, including the rehabilitation and restoration of ecosystems, formulation of recommendations/policy briefs to minimize risks of zoonotic diseases transmission from wildlife trade and high risk consumptive behavior of and interaction with wildlife, promote the importance of nature-based solutions to prevent future pandemics," according to the statement.

The virtual East Asia Summit was attended by ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their dialogue partners, namely Russia, Australia, India, China, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and the United States.

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