Swiss International Cooperation Forum 2025 at ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich welcomed the participants of the 4th IC Forum on the 27^th and 28^th February 2025 with the question of what growth means. This year’s Forum was dedicated to the issue of how Switzerland can support developing and partner countries in making sustainable use of their economic potential.

Around 900 specialists from politics, business, research, philanthropy and civil society accepted the invitation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) to ETH Zurich, where they held the IC Forum 2025. In addition to the participants at the location itself, 600 further individuals interested in the event followed the two-day event online on their screens.

General insecurity and poverty in the world

EAER Minister Guy Parmelin outlined the backdrop of the conference. He gave an account of a tense situation and general insecurity given the various crises. Not only had the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine caused unfathomable misery, but it was also inhibiting international trade and economic growth.

These developments were also perceptible in Switzerland. However, the developing countries were hit much harder, since their economies were less resilient. Parmelin reminded participants that more than 700 million people were still living in extreme poverty.

At the same time, nowadays, many developing countries were aware of their strengths and were presenting themselves more confidently, the Minister of Economics went on. They were taking their fate into their own hands and were willing to steer social developments or innovations such as those in the areas of decarbonisation or water treatment. 

The financial situation in many countries was tense, while debt was mounting rapidly, above all in some of the more progressive economies. At the same time, the geopolitical situation was making additional spending necessary to support security policies, Parmelin noted. Currently, the governments were having to make difficult political decisions. International cooperation was strongly affected by this situation and would remain so in the coming years.

Parmelin was convinced that the private sector would play a key role both in the development of poorer countries and in the reconstruction of Ukraine. With private finance, public investment could be multiplied. Improving the framework conditions and promoting mutual investment was the best way to combat global poverty. A country could only develop sustainably if the economies – and not only the governments – cooperated. And such cooperation had to be at eye-level.

No trade without economic development

The first day of the conference centred on the presentation given by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Secretary-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Uncertainty also prevailed on the world markets, said Okonjo-Iweala. Tariffs and trade policy measures were currently being used as means to also address non trade-related concerns. She stressed that despite all prophecies of doom, trade offered great opportunities to improve people’s lives and promote sustainable economic development.

For example, when trade and growth in production began to accelerate in a large number of developing countries across the world, this had dramatic results. Over the past three decades, 1.5 billion people had been released from extreme poverty. But the more developed economies had also benefited from trade, as she demonstrated with some figures.

“Trade holds exciting prospects for developing countries as well as for Swiss investments and innovations,” Okonjo-Iweala stressed. “Pressure to decentralise supply chains, to establish global resilience and to reduce exposure to geopolitical, climate and other risks ought to make investing in Africa and elsewhere on the periphery of global production networks more attractive,” she explained.

These incentives were in accord with demographic development. The size of the young workforce would soon be greater than that of all advanced economies together. Good prospects for more jobs and opportunities in their own country would mean that fewer young people would seek their fortunes in Europe. Swiss companies could use their supply chains to promote globalisation, and they would have enough scope to become more proactive. Reglobalisation was the order of the day.

Integration, inclusion, innovation

On the second day of the conference, Foreign Secretary Ignazio Cassis reminded participants what Switzerland was there for, stating: “It campaigns for independence and security and promotes democracy, human rights and peaceful coexistence of nations.” Swiss international cooperation served the purpose of combating poverty and promoting sustainable development. Accordingly, it was based on the three pillars of peace-building, development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

International cooperation required the integration of all responsible Federal departments to ensure coherence, effectiveness and efficiency. The wide range of topics – poverty, employment, climate, governance and more – demanded the involvement of a wide range of actors from science, the private sector, NGOs and beyond. Discussions into which specialist knowledge and knowhow flowed from various fields promoted innovation and enabled creative solutions to global challenges, Cassis explained.

(ETH/wi)