SINGAPORE, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from East Asia Summit (EAS) countries on Thursday reiterated readiness to provide further assistance, including sending medical and rescue teams, to cyclone-hit Myanmar.

    "They look forward to having these personnel on the ground as soon as possible to augment the Myanmar Government's relief efforts," said a statement from Singapore's Foreign Ministry.

    Singapore, the current chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said that the situation in Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis was discussed during the informal consultations among EAS senior officials, who have been meeting here over the past three days to prepare for a gathering of foreign ministers in July.

    The officials expressed their sympathy over the massive loss of lives caused by the cyclone, said the statement.

    They noted that many countries have offered humanitarian assistance packages to Myanmar following the outbreak of the disaster.

    The East Asia Summit, as a pan-Asia forum, involves ASEAN member countries, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as six other countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.