Phuket (Thailand), July 22 - Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Wednesday held talks here with his counterparts from 16 countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS), setting the stage for India's seventh summit with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October.

Terrorism, collective ways of dealing with the global financial crisis and a pan-regional strategy for disaster mitigation were among the issues discussed at the meeting, official sources said.

Krishna, who arrived in the Thai island resort of Phuket late Monday on a three-day visit, underlined India's desire for greater economic and strategic engagement with the East Asia region at informal consultations with EAS foreign ministers.

Thailand will host the ASEAN and EAS meets in October. The venue is yet to be decided. India is a dialogue partner at ASEAN, which comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei.

Besides the 10 nations of ASEAN, the 16-nation EAS also comprises India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China and South Korea.