Hanoi (VNA) - Nearly 150 foreign and domestic participants discussed educationpolicies and the future of international education at the APEC Future EducationForum held on November 15 in Hanoi. The forum, organised by the Vietnamese Ministryof Education and Training and the Republic of Korean (RoK)'s Ministry of Education, wascalled: “Innovative Future Education in APEC – Creating new dynamism andincreased employability.” Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Education andTraining Nguyen Van Phuc said the forum’s theme was relevant to the APEC themeof  “Creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future”. This reflected APEC education strategy -enhancing and aligning competencies to the needs of individuals, societies andeconomies, accelerating innovation and increasing employability, Phuc said. APEC economies expected that by 2030, they wouldhave a strong and cohesive education community, characterised by inclusive andqualified education that supported sustainable economic growth, socialwell-being and employability, he said. To achieve the goals, structural reform andinnovation were crucial to improve labour productivity, enhance human resourcesand allocate resources, he said. In Vietnam, the Government considered education,science and technology as top priorities in socio-economic developmentstrategy, giving 20 percent of the total State budget to education andtraining, he said. The national education sector was now carryingout education reform to prepare qualified human resources to meet requirementsof the fourth industrial revolution, he said. Yeonghan Choi, Director General of theInternational Cooperation Bureau under the RoK's Ministry of Education,said the forum would open the floor for participants to discuss the revolution(the internet, robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence) as well asits effects on future society, economy and education. The forum would also serve as a platformproviding stakeholders opportunities for international education co-operation,he said. The APEC Future Education Forum is an annualevent, first held in 2004. As the largest international education forum in theAPEC region, AFEF has accumulated 3,200 participants, including Governmentofficials, experts, entrepreneurs, teachers and others from internationalorganisations. It is an arena where discussions on international education,directions and visions for future education are held to establish mutualprosperity. The participants also joined the15th International APEC Learning Community Builders (ALCoB) Conference onFriday. The conference, which has been held as a sister event with the forumsince 2009, seeks to foster mutual understanding of education and culture inAPEC economies through various exchange programmes.-VNA