Daejeon Mayor Kwon Sun-taik said Thursday his city will enhance cooperation with major cities in the Asia-Pacific region to promote development in the region.

Kwon made the remarks in a speech at the closing ceremony of the four-day 2017 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum at the Daejeon Convention Center here. Daejeon is the host city of the event.

"The city of Daejeon will bear the pride and sense of duty as the host city of the 2017 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum, and actively pursue cooperation with many cities for the development of the Asia-Pacific region," he said.
 

More than 70 mayors attended the Mayors' Forum and adopted a joint statement calling for their cooperation in sharing experiences for urban innovation through science and technology, promotion of business activities, urban regeneration through culture and arts, and sustainable urban development strategy.

During the four-day sessions, over 1,500 participants from 120 cities have also discussed ways to cooperate among regional cities for sustainable urban development.

Several forums and workshops were also held to tackle the fourth industrial revolution and the advent of artificial intelligence.

Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, made a keynote speech on the importance of fostering the atmosphere for women doing business successfully under the title "Creating the Conditions that Enable Women Entrepreneurs to Thrive."

"Cherie set up the Foundation in 2008 to help women build small and growing businesses in developing and emerging markets so that they can contribute to their economies and have a stronger voice in their societies," according to the summit's website.

Jared Cohen, chief adviser to Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, discussed the importance of data as the source of the fourth industrial revolution and artificial intelligence under the theme "Leading at Innovations' Edge: Embracing the Next Wave of Technological Disruption."

The next summit will be held in Brisbane, Australia, in 2019. (Yonhap)