Vietnam takes baton from Seoul for 2028 gathering of Asia, Oceanian parties

Taking the baton means Vietnam is succeeding South Korea as host of the next ICAPP General Assembly. It is a symbolic handover of responsibility, represented by the transfer of the ICAPP flag and gavel at the closing ceremony in Seoul. The next gathering will take place in Vietnam in 2028.

The event will be the 14th General Assembly. Vietnam’s vice minister of foreign affairs, Ngo Le Van, called the hosting role both an honor and a responsibility. He pledged to work with member parties to strengthen dialogue, solidarity and practical cooperation.

The handover keeps the forum moving beyond Seoul. It also gives Vietnam a role in organizing discussions among ruling and opposition parties from across Asia and Oceania. The next assembly will follow Seoul’s focus on rebuilding trust amid conflict, political division, technological change and the climate crisis.

The International Conference of Asian Political Parties is a forum for political parties from across Asia and Oceania. It brings together parties regardless of ideology or political system. Its purpose is not to erase political differences, but to create space for dialogue on shared regional and global challenges.

Including ruling and opposition parties makes the conversation more representative of political life within participating countries. The Seoul meeting was jointly hosted by South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea and main opposition People Power Party. That arrangement reflected the forum’s effort to include different political positions.

The mechanism is practical cooperation. Parties can disagree on many issues while identifying areas of common interest, such as peaceful conflict resolution, responsible AI and climate action. Chung Eui-yong said the willingness to look beyond differences was the gathering’s most important message.

The 13th ICAPP General Assembly brought together representatives of 83 political parties from 36 countries. That figure measures both the number of participating parties and the geographic reach of the meeting. The participants came from across Asia and Oceania.

The gathering was also politically diverse. ICAPP includes ruling and opposition parties, and it accepts parties regardless of ideology or political system. South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea and main opposition People Power Party jointly hosted the Seoul assembly.

This scale mattered because the declaration addressed problems that cross national borders. Delegates considered geopolitical tensions, public trust in democratic governance, artificial intelligence and climate change. They unanimously adopted the Seoul Declaration, while Chung Eui-yong stressed that unanimous adoption did not mean every party agreed on every issue.

The Seoul Declaration mattered because it showed that political parties with different ideologies and systems could still agree on shared principles. The parties did not settle every dispute. Instead, they unanimously adopted a document addressing four major challenges facing societies and international cooperation.

Its key mechanism was selective agreement. Delegates supported peaceful conflict resolution, responsible AI development, stronger climate action and cooperation across political and ideological divides. Chung Eui-yong said the declaration’s significance lay in parties’ willingness to look beyond differences and identify areas where they could work together.

That approach is important when divisions are deepening and international cooperation is under strain. Chung also warned that declarations alone were insufficient. Restoring trust requires sustained dialogue, mutual respect and concrete action that turns shared commitments into practical results.

The declaration could give governments a shared direction on three urgent issues. On peace, it rejects war as an instrument of coercion and supports peaceful settlement of disputes. For citizens, that commitment points toward diplomacy rather than conflict as the preferred response to international disagreements.

On AI, governments could use the declaration’s framework for high-risk systems. It calls for transparency, accountability, data protection and meaningful human oversight. These measures address job disruption, privacy risks, misinformation and misuse, while preserving AI’s potential benefits for economic development, health and education.

On climate, the declaration urges immediate action, fulfillment of emissions commitments and financial and technological assistance for vulnerable countries. Citizens could benefit from stronger responses to floods and landslides. However, Chung emphasized that declarations must become practical results through sustained dialogue, mutual respect and concrete action.

Political parties can cooperate by separating shared problems from issues where their positions remain different. The Seoul Declaration did not claim that all participating parties agreed on every matter. Instead, it recorded common commitments on peace, AI, climate change and cooperation across political and ideological divides.

The key mechanism is dialogue based on mutual respect. Parties can state their own positions, listen to others and negotiate language focused on practical goals. At Seoul, they agreed to reject war as an instrument of coercion and support peaceful conflict resolution. They also backed safeguards for high-risk AI and stronger climate action.

This model preserves political identity while allowing joint work. Chung Eui-yong said the parties’ willingness to look beyond differences was the most important message from Seoul. He also stressed that cooperation must continue through sustained dialogue and concrete action, not end with a declaration.

Public trust matters because democratic governance depends on people believing that political institutions can respond responsibly to major challenges. The assembly identified declining trust in democratic governance as one of four major concerns. Without trust, even carefully negotiated commitments may have less public confidence and impact.

Dialogue helps rebuild trust by creating channels for disagreement without coercion. Parties can show that political competition does not make cooperation impossible. The Seoul Declaration demonstrated this approach by bringing ruling and opposition parties together and supporting peaceful conflict resolution, responsible AI and stronger climate action.

Concrete action makes those messages credible. The declaration calls for AI safeguards, data protection and human oversight, along with emissions action and assistance for vulnerable countries. Chung Eui-yong said restoring trust requires sustained dialogue, mutual respect and practical results. Declarations therefore provide direction, but implementation must demonstrate that commitments matter.