Prominent public and private figures from Korea and five nations in Central Asia met on Wednesday in Seoul for the Third Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum.

The forum, aimed at the development of a “New Silk Road,” was held at the National Museum of Korea.

Delegates from Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan announced in a joint statement after the forum their plans to share experiences in order to implement future-oriented projects. The projects include bolstering the economic competitiveness of the nations participating and efficiently using energy in response to the global economic crisis.

Large numbers of university students from various countries took part in the forum, which gave participants an opportunity to discuss visions for developing friendly collaborative relations as well as for building a next-generation network between Korea and Central Asia.

The fourth forum will also be held in Korea in 2010.