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Leaders wave as they pose for a group photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila, Thursday. They are, clockwise from top left, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Philippines President Benigno Aquino III, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The leaders from 21 countries discussed ways to bolster economic, political and security-related cooperation during the two-day meeting. / AP-Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
Korea will host the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2025, Cheong Wa Dae said, Thursday.
It will be the second APEC summit to be held in Korea after Busan, the nation's second-largest city, hosted it in 2005.
"President Park Geun-hye expressed Korea's intent to contribute to the co-prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region by holding the 2025 summit and the nation won the right to host it after APEC members welcomed the offer," said Kim Kyou-hyun, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security, during a briefing in Manila, the Philippines.
When the two-day forum wrapped up, 21 Asia-Pacific leaders adopted a joint statement, in which they said "We welcome the offer of the Republic of Korea to host APEC in 2025."
The annual event will be held in Peru next year and future hosts from 2017 to 2022 are Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand.
"By hosting the 2025 summit, Korea will be able to play the role of a middle power country in the region," said Ahn Jong-beom, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.
A host city for the 2025 summit will be chosen in the lead-up to the event.
When the APEC summit is held, about 300 international conferences take place in tandem, raising hopes for an economic stimulation for the country's meeting, incentives, convention and exhibition industry.