Host Yonhap News Agency had done a truly excellent job to stage the summit in conjunction with its 30th anniversary.
Many delegates were caught surprise when South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan turned up to open the four-day meeting.
His message was clear -- Asia-Pacific news agencies need to raise their cooperation to new heights as the "pendulum of global power is swinging towards the region".
He said the region was not only the world's largest and most populous but the most rapidly changing as well.
"Asia-Pacific was among the earliest to recover from the recent financial crisis, fuelling recovery in the rest of the world," said Chung, who noted that South Korea now stood as an important player in global affairs.
The meeting sought to broaden multilateral cooperation among Oana members in the face of a rapidly changing global media environment.
Chung said Oana, formed in 1961 on the initiative of Unesco, could help narrow the information gap separating developed and developing nations.
"Oana members have indeed played a crucial role in the region's rapid and dynamic advancement. You deliver the latest news swiftly and accurately, painting a vivid picture of Asia-Pacific far beyond the region," he said.
Saying he was aware of the world's high expectations for South Korea to "make the world a better place for everyone", he urged Oana members to write and report about the country.
"World leaders from developed and developing nations will meet in (South) Korea this month for the 2010 G-20 Summit. (South) Korea will also be the host of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit," he said.
Oana President Dr Ahmad Mukhlis Yusof said the theme for the summit, "Challenges and Opportunities for News Agencies", was relevant and urged members to tap the information technology.
"The imbalance and difference of information flow between the developing and developed countries have not been narrow by disputes for decades. Until now, there is a gap within the world information flow," said Mukhlis, who is chief executive of Antara News Agency of Indonesia.
Communications scholar Dr Oliver Boyd-Barrett, who delivered a keynote address, said he believed Oana has a role in helping to shape future change to the information flow.
"Two countries of the region (India and China) alone account for a third of the global population and economically the region is developing into the world's powerhouse for the 21st century.
"How can this not impact the global infrastructure of news flow?" said Dr Boyd-Barrett of Bowling Green University in Ohio.
