The East Asia Forum (EAF) is an annual track 1.5 activity under the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) framework. The APT Leaders have consistently acknowledged the contributions made by the East Asia Forum in fostering an East Asia regional identity and supporting an East Asia community in the long-term.

The 18th EAF entitled "Strengthening the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation for economic and financial resilience in the face of emerging challenges" aims to facilitate extensive and intensive discussion and promote the exchange of views and ideas on how to strengthen macro-economic surveillance and early warning capabilities to monitor and predict the incidence of economic and financial crises in East Asia, enhance regional capacities and responsiveness to external economic and financial shocks, sustain the momentum for regional economic integration, in order to further strengthen their cooperation for economic and financial resilience in the face of emerging challenges and lay groundwork for the long-term goal of establishing an East Asia community.

The main activity of the 18^th EAF is a series of discussions on three topics, which help strengthen the APT cooperation for economic and financial resilience in the face of emerging challenges in East Asia, namely:

1) Strengthening macro-economic surveillance and early warning capabilities to monitor and predict the incidence of economic and financial crises in East Asia;