The 16th South Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum will be held on Wednesday at the Lotte Hotel Seoul.

Sponsored by Seoul's Foreign Ministry, the forum's theme is "Mapping Paths to New Frontier of Korea-Middle East Cooperation." Participants will discuss regional affairs and the security environment as well as cooperation in various areas between Korea and the Middle East.

In a keynote speech, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young is expected to call for expanding bilateral cooperation from the construction and energy sectors to include more areas such as security and culture.

The forum is co-hosted by the Korea-Arab Society, the Jeju Peace Institute and the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research.