Korea is hosting a meeting of Asia Pacific education chiefs next week to discuss ways for their cooperation and development of future education, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Wednesday.

The 5th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting will be held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province from May 21-23.

Korea aims to bridge advanced and developing economies for regional cooperation during the event expected to draw some 600 officials.

Representatives of the 21 member countries, including the United States, Russia, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam, are taking part in the largest-ever edition of the quadrennial ministerial conference. Papua New Guinea is also making its first appearance

The three main themes of the meeting are globalization, innovation and cooperation. During the three-day event, the participants will share their experiences and ideas before issuing a joint statement on the final day.

Korea will play a pivotal role in setting the agenda for the meeting in cooperation with participating nations, the ministry said.

Korea elevated its global status following the success of the G20 summit in 2010 and the nuclear security summit in March this year. By hosting the APEC education ministerial meeting, Korea is aiming not only to elevate the country’s educational sector, but also to take a leading role in global educational reform, the ministry said.

Since its first meeting in 1992, the APEC Education Ministerial Meeting has been held every four years. Korea is the second Asia country after Singapore in 2000 to host the quadrennial meeting. The last meeting was held in 2008, in Peru.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)