Youth & Leaders Summit 2025: What Future for International Cooperation?

From 29 to 31 January 2025, the 10th edition of the Youth & Leaders Summit explored the question “What future for international cooperation?”. 

Spanning different realms and discussion formats, the Summit enabled PSIA students to engage with global leaders and to reflect together upon the current state of multilateral relations and international institutions. 

Watch the official video interviews to hear what current leaders think about the future of international cooperation and what messages they have for the next generation. Read a recap article of the Summit written by PSIA student journalists : Upamanyu Dutta,  Jan Cipar,  Amir Bonyadi, Catherine Burke, Gabriel da Silva Terra, and Julia Jadzinska.

The Future of International Cooperation: Crisis or Consensus?

“Geopolitics is back with a vengeance,” and with it, the world finds itself at an inflection point. From trade wars, invasions, genocides and rising socio-political tensions; trust in global institutions is at an all-time low. International cooperation, once the backbone of global governance, is now marred by fragmentation and polarization. Yet, “in the middle of all geopolitical turmoil, there is still hope” said Dean Arancha Gonzalez Laya.  The YLS 2025 positions itself as a vital space where leaders of today and tomorrow converge to forge solutions. The question remains: What Future for International Cooperation? The answer, ultimately, depends on what we choose to build together.

International Cooperation - A Challenge Worth Pursuing 

Setting the stage in his keynote speech, Mathias Cormann acknowledged that international cooperation is and will be “extremely hard and frustratingly slow”, but insisted there is no alternative. He emphasized the OECD’s role as a moderator, advocating for “better policies for better life” through an evidence-based approach. He warned against AI’s weaponization and emphasized democratic regulation. On trade, Cormann cautioned against fragmentation and highlighted the necessity of global market access. Closing on an optimistic note, he reaffirmed that cooperation, although difficult, remains the only viable path to building a better planet. 

On the Road to Seville: A Financial System Fit for Sustainable Development

Paula Subbachi, the incoming holder of PSIA’s Chair in Sovereign Debt and Finance, built on the sentiment of the OECD Secretary General as moderator of the subsequent panel discussion. As the world inches closer to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, a critical question looms large: Is our financial system fit for the task?

Global commitments remain unfulfilled with developed nations failing to meet their promises of directing 0.7% of GDP to development aid. As public financing alone will not be enough, more effort should go into mobilizing private capital. Beyond the question of how much funding is needed, speakers emphasized the importance of how money is raised and allocated.

Thierry Watrin argued that investments must be purposeful, while Pascal Saint-Amans stressed that reform of the international tax system will be crucial to ensure sustainable financing. A recurring challenge raised during the discussion was the lack of a sufficient pipeline of viable investment projects. PSIA student Javier Oest Fernández noted that the current project-by-project approach is ineffective, and new frameworks are needed to guide sustainable financing. Concluding the first day, the message is clear: global challenges can only be met by strengthening equitable international cooperation. 

Human institutions: Transforming Societal Systems with Compassion

Kicking-off the second day of the Summit, Prosecutor Disa Jironet Loewe held a captivating talk about the importance of constructing institutions with a more human-centered and compassionate approach. She emphasized that traditional institutions, which are frequently viewed as outdated and overly rigid, remain our crucial safeguard against short-term political whims, but that they must evolve by emphasizing humanity and empathy. In her daily experience as a public prosecutor, she believes that justice is more than just uncovering facts; it requires us to consider the broader context of the human story behind each case.

Despite feelings of doubt and powerlessness in the face of global uncertainties and rising authoritarianism, she encouraged aspiring changemakers to persevere, to find strength in discomfort, and to act real. By doing so, they can transform societal systems  and instill them with compassion and genuine human connection. The next session went on to demonstrate how this could work in practice within a major international organisation.

The Future of the Multilateral Trading System

In a fireside chat moderated by The New York Times Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, Steven Erlanger, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stressed the importance of focusing on trade issues, rather than labels such as China’s contested status as a ‘developing’ nation. She highlighted the stagnation of developing countries in global trade, urging investment in value-added production and decentralised supply chains.

Climate action, she argued, cannot succeed without trade, and called for tariff reforms on green technologies and better use of existing trade resources. While the WTO’s dispute settlement system faces challenges, alternative mechanisms are keeping trade governance functional. Moving forward, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala concluded that a “responsible consensus” approach is needed to ensure efficiency in the multilateral trading system.

International Organisations: Detriment to or Catalyst for International Cooperation?

The second day of the Summit continued to critically assess the role of international organisations, which are often seen as failing to adequately respond to crises in an increasingly chaotic world.
The New York Times debate: “Do we still need the UN?”, highlighted the urgency of this issue. While one side strongly questioned the UN’s efficacy, Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, emphasized its role as a global peace actor, citing significant “evidence and reports that where peacekeepers are, fewer civilians will die and there are better chances to achieve peace”.

In response, Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Brazilian Ambassador to the UK, noted that our world is at a tipping point and that “systematic frequent violations of international law with impunity” undermine organisations like the UN and the international system at large. He called for wider representation within the UN, namely greater regional participation and a more equitable gender balance, in addition to a stronger focus on climate change.

Despite a narrow victory for UN supporters, the audience was left with questions: Will institutional reforms be enough to address the obstacles to international cooperation within the UN system? 

Circumventing the Abyss: a Human Rights Approach 

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, opened Day 3 of the Summit by emphasizing the importance of critically selecting the key issues to be tackled first and the institutions that must be preserved. From a human rights perspective, the greatest challenge we now face is no longer about maintaining optimism, but rather about how to avoid the worst effects of rising levels of inequality, growing assaults on civil and political rights, and severe retrenchment practices - all of which have precipitated the world into crisis.

Moreover, she told PSIA students that “it will require the maturity of everyone, especially young generations, to make us walk around that abyss.” Callamard envisioned this period as one in which civil society must resist oppressive systems, and foster local cooperation to safeguard the fundamental principles established after the Second World War. Beyond protecting this “beautiful legacy”, we must also strive for an international framework that better reflects the reality of the 21st century.

Multilateralism and the New World Order 

A discussion about what an up-to-date international framework might look like reveals how global power dynamics and the global order have changed over the past 70 years. The discussion started with Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, who highlighted the persistent failures of multilateralism since the Second World War while emphasizing successes in science and medicine.

Next, María Fernanda Espinosa advocated for a new accountability framework and improved peacekeeping strategies, while Isabella Baker spoke to a diminishing global trust in multilateralism and the Global South’s deep frustration with the current system. Zhang Weiwei then highlighted China's creation of alternative global frameworks, contrasting them with outdated Western models, and called for a focus on the efficiency of governance rather than political labels.

Lastly, John W.H. Denton criticised many traditional institutions for becoming “space junk”, and called for both reforms and more private-sector participation. Showcasing a plurality of global perspectives, the panellists interestingly all agreed on the urgent need to rebuild trust and strengthen multilateralism in an increasingly fragmented world.

Next generation expectations: The Future of International Cooperation

The final session featured a dialogue between four PSIA students, who represent the next generation of leaders, and Christina Gallach, Secretary of the Board of GWL Voices and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

The students highlighted the main takeaways from the three-day Summit before asking Gallach to react to concrete proposals submitted by their peers through the Pol.is open-source AI feedback tool. “We need to believe in our values and in the conversations meant to better the future” declared Gallach, referring to the role of the UN and the challenges tied to its structure. She emphasized that action at the international level, particularly through organisations like the UN, is vital in terms of addressing global issues such as climate change.

Gallach also stressed the need to make the current systems more compatible with today’s reality. The world of finance needs to ensure more effective redistribution of resources, and to address gender inequality. The students successfully set the framework for the Dean to make her closing remarks and bring the Summit to a conclusion.

Closing the Summit with a Poem of Hope  

For the first time in a decade, the Youth and Leaders Summit inspired the creation of a poem. PSIA student Oriel Wagner presented her work - “Peace by Piece” - which talks about the fragility of peace and the continuous efforts  needed to strengthen international cooperation.

In her concluding remarks, PSIA Dean Arancha González added: “We need to try to avoid tunnel vision. But this requires difficult conversations, and that is exactly what international cooperation is about - listening to each other, no matter how hard it is”. The world is full of pluralities and complexities, and this diversity should serve as a starting point for change. According to González, the goal of international cooperation should drive us forward into the future, even if it can never be fully completed or perfected.