A ministerial conference sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has opened in Seoul.

Korea is the first Asian country to host the OECD ministerial meeting.

Under the theme of the “Future of the Internet Economy,” the conference will review the last ten years of the global Internet economy.

It will also provide Korea an opportunity to promote its advanced Internet technologies.

Ministers from more than 40 countries will participate in the meeting. The event also brings together 25-hundred other information technology (IT) leaders including international agency officials and businesspeople.

The conference will close Wednesday with the adoption of the Seoul Declaration.

Korea Communications Commission Chairman Choi See-joong opened the conference with a speech highlighting the role of the Internet as a driving force behind economic growth. He also called the cyberworld a new cultural space, which encourages people to speak out about social issues and realize personal dreams.

On the sidelines of the meeting, a world IT fair and various academic seminars will be held.

The Korea Communications Commission expects the meeting to generate export deals worth more than 130 billion won, or about 125 million U.S. dollars.