The Group of Eight (G8) industrialised countries and six other nations including India and China on Friday made a joint pledge to raise global education standards.
At the end of a two-day meeting on education the states adopted a declaration to boost their education standards in the face of the latest technological developments and ensure a good education for all.
The declaration is "the document that the directors of education ministries… as well as international organisations including the World Bank, UNESCO and the United Nations, will apply," Russian Education Minister Andrey Fursenko told journalists after the meeting.
Education was one of three key global issues chosen by host country Russia for the agenda of this year's G8 summit, along with energy safety and infectious diseases.
The declaration also contains resolutions on the importance of learning as a way of integrating immigrants, ongoing learning, professional training and universal access to a quality education.
Fursenko said the meeting had also discussed improvements to benefit teachers.
As well as education ministers of the G8 industrialised countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States — the meeting was attended by China, India, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico.
