At the 3rd East Asia Summit in November 2007 in Singapore, Leaders agreed to the establishment of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). The Inaugural Governing Board Meeting of ERIA was held at the ASEAN Secretariat on 3 June 2008 to celebrate the successful establishment of ERIA.

ERIA Governing Board, the supreme decision-making body of ERIA, comprised the Secretary-General of ASEAN and 16 members from the East Asia Summit countries with various backgrounds such as business, academia and policy makers. Dr. Dinh Van An, President of Central Institute for Economic Management of Viet Nam, was elected to be the Chairperson of ERIA Governing Board.

ERIA will provide a solid intellectual foundation for cooperation, for coordination and for development in ASEAN and in the entire East Asian region. It will contribute to the economic integration within ASEAN and in East Asia. It will reinforce ASEAN’s role as the driver in fostering greater cooperation with its major dialogue partners, namely, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, and New Zealand. ERIA will also strengthen the research capacity and capability of the ASEAN Secretariat.

ERIA will undertake policy analyses, provide policy recommendations for the leaders and ministers in the region and serve as a tripartite-type forum for policy dialogue and interactions among policymakers, researchers, and business/civil community and improve policy research capacities especially in the less developed countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in Tokyo “I intend to nurture ERIA into an organisation that will take on roles similar to the OECD in this region in the future”. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, the Secretary-General of ASEAN said that “ERIA will provide the strategic research support to policymakers towards sharing of policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems and identifying good practices for the region”. Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Akira Amari, in his letter to Dr. Surin conveyed his expectation of ERIA becoming the “Center of Excellence” in the region.