This column, written earlier, is being revisited in light of the recent political developments in Venezuela, which have once again placed that country, and Latin America as a whole, at the center of global attention. These events underscore the continuing relevance of intercontinental dialogue, party-to-party engagement, and collective efforts to address shared political and social challenges.

In October 2010, we traveled to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, following an earlier trip to Buenos Aires two years before, to explore avenues of cooperation between our Asia-wide organization, the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), and its Latin American counterpart, the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPPAL).

ICAPP, which we founded and launched in Manila in September 2000, has since grown to represent 352 political parties from 52 countries across Asia. COPPPAL, for its part, brings together 60 political parties from 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean — regions that, while geographically distant, face remarkably similar political, economic, and social challenges.

We were accompanied on that San Salvador visit by Ambassador Chung Eui-yong of South Korea, then ICAPP co-chairman and secretary-general; Deputy Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who was later elected as Prime Minister of Nepal; and several other Asian political leaders.

Ambassador Chung would later serve as South Korea’s national security adviser and subsequently as foreign minister under President Moon Jae-in, during whose administration historic meetings were held between South Korean and North Korean leaders, as well as between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump — events that demonstrated the enduring power of dialogue even amid deep ideological divides.

In San Salvador, we met with distinguished Latin American statesmen Antonio Cafiero of Argentina and Gustavo Carvajal Moreno of Mexico, then chairman and deputy chairman, respectively, of COPPPAL.

The late Antonio Cafiero held numerous senior posts in Argentina, including senator, governor of Buenos Aires province, ambassador, and Cabinet minister under President Juan Perón and later under President Isabel Perón. Gustavo Carvajal Moreno, who also passed away several years ago, served Mexico as congressman, senator, Cabinet minister, and president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which governed Mexico for much of the 20th century.

We were likewise warmly received by El Salvador’s President Mauricio Funes and Vice President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, who would later be elected president.

President Funes candidly observed that poverty remained Latin America’s most serious challenge and that its roots lay not so much in economic performance as in flawed politics and weak institutions. That insight resonates even more strongly today, as political polarization, institutional erosion, and governance crises — from Venezuela to other parts of the region — continue to exact a heavy toll on ordinary citizens.

Antonio Cafiero emphasized that closer cooperation between ICAPP and COPPPAL highlighted the increasingly important role of political parties in a globalized world. He argued that our next step should be to reach out beyond Asia and Latin America to political parties in other continents, in order to confront common global challenges collectively.

We stressed then, and we reiterate now, that geopolitical, territorial, racial, religious, and ideological differences can only be overcome through sustained dialogue and negotiated political settlements. We proposed that ICAPP and COPPPAL join forces to promote power-sharing and burden-sharing approaches in addressing global issues, including the establishment of a Global Anti-Poverty Fund under the auspices of the United Nations.

All of us agreed that deeper cooperation and solidarity between Asia and Latin America — anchored in regular exchanges among political parties — were essential to advancing our shared objectives of peace, development, and prosperity.

Since that time, regular meetings between our two groupings have been held in various cities across Asia and Latin America. These efforts, modest as they may be, have contributed to promoting mutual understanding, trust, dialogue, and cooperation among our peoples.

ICAPP has since forged working partnerships with the Council of African Political Parties (CAPP), which represents 58 political parties from 38 African countries, as well as with political parties in Europe through the Asia–Europe Political Forum, which we launched in Seoul in July 2017. We also held initial meetings in Washington, D.C., in 2018 with representatives of both the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties to explore possible modes of cooperation.

In today’s increasingly interconnected, and unstable, world, the renewed global focus on Venezuela serves as a reminder that political crises rarely remain confined within national or regional borders. They demand dialogue, solidarity, and a sense of shared responsibility across continents.

Now more than ever, we must seek strength in unity, and purpose in cooperation, guided by the conviction that inclusive politics and sustained dialogue remain our best hope for peace and shared progress.