Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group have called for greater cross-border cooperation in advance of building an Asia-Pacific higher-education space that would include Southeast Asian nations–India, China, Japan, South Korea–as well as Pacific Rim countries–the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Cooperation would include enhancing the “mobility of students, researchers, and education providers within APEC through the development of higher-education cooperation.” APEC leaders have acknowledged the role of education as an “essential driver of innovative” growth in the Asia-Pacific region.