SEOUL, November 27. /TASS/. The eighth annual Asian Conference of the Valdai international discussion club is set to open on Monday in the South Korean capital of Seoul bringing together over 30 experts from various countries.

The two-day event is called "Looking ahead: Russia and Asia in the next 20 years" and, according to the organizers, the conference will see this year experts not from Russia and South Korea only, but from other countries as well, including China, Japan, India, the United States, Australia and Singapore.

"Valdai’s Asian forums, which formerly used to be bilateral, now involve the entire region," according to a spokesman of the organizers.

"Such wide representation of foreign experts at the upcoming Asian conference of the club can be explained by the fact that the regional security will be toping the agenda of discussions, first of all the North Korean nuclear issue, which is undoubtedly the world’s key issue today," the spokesman said adding that it was also the reason to hold the conference in Seoul.

"The participation of experts from the regional countries will add extra acuteness and significance to discussions on the ways and means for the Korean Peninsula settlement," the spokesman said.

"The participants will also discuss economic cooperation in the region, and influence of the APR (Asia-Pacific Region) cooperation on the development of Russia’s Far East," he added.

The key speaker from Russia at the 8th annual Asian Conference of the Valdai international discussion club will be Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov. The Russian diplomat is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his colleagues from South Korea during the conference.