Issued on 6 August 2015, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, the People's Republic of China, Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, on the occasion of the 5th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 July 2015, welcomed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached on 14 July 2015 between the E3/EU+3 (China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) and the Islamic Republic of Iran, to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme.

The Ministers further welcomed the adoption of Resolution 2231 by the United Nations Security Council on 20 July 2015, which endorsed the JCPOA; supported the commitment of states party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to comply fully with their obligations; and recalled the right of states party to the Treaty, in conformity with Articles I and II of the Treaty, to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination.

The Ministers recognised that the E3/EU+3 and Iran have reached an important resolution, which, if fully implemented, would contribute to building confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme and affirmed that the JCPOA reflects a step-by-step approach and includes reciprocal commitments on the part of Iran and the E3/EU+3. Implementation of the JCPOA will begin when the IAEA verifies that Iran has taken all of its key nuclear-related steps, and the E3/EU+3 takes reciprocal lifting of sanctions. Full implementation of the JCPOA will enable the comprehensive lifting of all UN Security Council nuclear-related sanctions as well as U.S. and E.U national sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme.

The Ministers further recognised that if the E3/EU+3 and Iran follow through on the JCPOA, the international community will be able to resolve this significant international security challenge, and to do so peacefully.