(LEAD) APEC culture ministers share importance of cultural industries in 1st meeting

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- Culture ministers from 20 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Wednesday recognized the growing role of cultural and creative industries, and agreed to continue discussing related issues at their first meeting, South Korea's culture ministry said.

The agreement came in a joint statement adopted at the end of the main session of the three-day APEC 2025 High-level Dialogue on Cultural and Creative Industries in Gyeongju, 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It was the first ministerial-level gathering on culture since the forum was founded in 1989.

The statement emphasized a shared recognition of the industries' economic value and called for greater promotion of innovation in creation and distribution through the use of digital and artificial intelligence technologies, the ministry said.

"It's a significant achievement that, for the first time in APEC's history, the cultural sector was elevated to a core agenda item for economic cooperation, and that we were able to vividly showcase the infinite scalability of cultural content and the capabilities of South Korea's cultural industry to the attendees," Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young said during a press conference held shortly after the meeting's closure.

The joint statement had initially planned to include a clause on "building a sustainable cooperation system based on respect for cultural diversity." The proposal, however, was ultimately excluded following objections from some member economies, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Instead, participants pledged to promote exchanges among APEC members in the cultural and creative industries, and to continue discussions on related matters.

"It's merely an issue of expression, and the member economies all agreed to keep the discussions going," Chae noted. "While we did not establish a specific consultative body, we did agree to continue the relevant discussions."

The meeting, chaired by Chae, was attended by about 100 representatives from all APEC member economies except Mexico.

Before adopting the joint statement, participants held three separate sessions under the themes "Connect," "Innovate" and "Prosper" to discuss the future of the global cultural and creative industries.

The dialogue runs through Thursday in Gyeongju.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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