President Park Geun-hye on Sunday stressed the importance of education in setting up an effective and inclusive system to achieve sustainable development.

Park said South Korea drastically expanded investment in education as it was pushing for industrialization in the 1970s, which in turn created decent jobs and resulted in inclusive growth.

South Korea‘s education fervor helped transform the country into Asia’s fourth-largest economy from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Park made the comment at the U.N. session on establishing an effective and inclusive system needed to achieve sustainable development. The session was co-presided by Park and her Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet.

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea‘s presidential office, said the move demonstrated South Korea’s leadership in discussing the major agenda of the international community.

On Friday, member states of the U.N. adopted a new sustainable development agenda and set 2030 as the target year for achieving the goals that call for, among other things, ending poverty, protecting the planet and providing quality education.

Park also stressed the importance of the government‘s leadership in setting up an effective and reliable system, citing South Korea’s government-led economic development in the 1960s.

Park plans to attend a luncheon meeting on climate change to be hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for leaders of major countries.

The meeting is designed to drum up support for a deal on cutting down greenhouse gases at the U.N. Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris later this year.

In June, South Korea offered to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent by 2030 from 850.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, an amount Seoul says it would reach if it lets business run as usual.

Also Sunday, Park is set to hold three separate summits with her counterparts from Pakistan, Denmark and Nigeria on the sidelines. (Yonhap)