Foreign ministers and government officials attending the 6th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) adopted a joint declaration here on Tuesday and called for more cooperation to narrow the information gap between developed and developing countries.

The ministers agreed to support joint IT study and research projects among member countries while encouraging a strong partnership in the IT field both at the government and private levels, the Seoul IT (Information Technology) Declaration said.

Officials from 29 Asian countries and Russia attended the one- day meeting in Seoul. The overarching theme of the meeting is "the Promotion of IT Cooperation and Bridging of the Digital Divide."

At the opening statement, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck- soo said the increased competition among countries in a globalized market place and the strengthening of regional integration are providing good reason for regional cooperation.

The ACD, the only pan-Asian regional cooperation mechanism, allow Asian countries to forge collective economic strategies to maintain Asia's competitiveness vis-a-vis other regional grouping, Han said.

"A stable security environment is the precondition for continued economic development," Han said at the statement, stressing that a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula is a key to securing a stable environment in Asia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov participated in the meeting.

The Asia Cooperation Dialogue is up to now the sole mechanism of inter-governmental dialogue and cooperation in Asia. Under the sponsorship of Thailand, the first ministerial meeting of ACD was held in Cha-am, Thailand in June 2002. The last round of ministerial meeting of the AC is e held in Doha, Qatar in May 2006.

Source: Xinhua