The 9th East Asia Forum was held in Chengdu, China on 15-17 September 2011, with the theme ‘Accelerating Regional Integration: Internal Growth Engine of East Asia.’ The forum was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and attended by about 100 government officials, business representatives and scholars from ASEAN Member States, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and representative from the ASEAN Secretariat. His Excellency Mr. Abdulahat Abdulrixit, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was the forum’s keynote speaker. A panel of esteemed government officials from Viet Nam, Republic of Korea, Japan, and Indonesia also delivered speeches during the opening ceremony. In his keynote speech, H.E. Mr. Abdulahat Abdulrixit acknowledged how EAF has become an important platform for the APT countries to ‘seek consultation, build consensus and enhance cooperation’ in the region. He also emphasized the APT countries should ‘make consistent efforts to ensure their role as the main vehicle in advancing East Asian cooperation towards an East Asia community.’