How can development cooperation stay relevant in a world where many governments are prioritising national economic and security interests and retreating from multilateralism?
Next month, global development leaders will gather in Hamburg for the 2025 Development Leaders Conference (DLC), co-hosted by the Center for Global Development (CGD) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), to discuss the possible answers to that question.
Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and shifting paradigms in global cooperation, this gathering comes at a critical moment. Now in its eighth iteration, the DLC provides a unique space for senior development officials and thought leaders from across the world to connect, challenge assumptions, and co-create innovative ideas. This year’s conference builds on past discussions within the current context, and attendees will explore how development actors can work together to restore trust, reform outdated systems, and do more with less. The DLC will be held alongside the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC), providing a key opportunity to engage with the broader public discourse on climate, development, and sustainability that the HSC fosters among policymakers, private sector leaders, and civil society.
DLC participants will examine how the context they are operating in—from intensifying geopolitical competition and shifting political priorities to shrinking budgets and growing scepticism about aid—is impacting their approach. In this environment, achieving large-scale poverty reduction, once a widely shared, achievable ambition, will require a fundamental rethink of the pathways on how to get there. Discussions will focus on how development cooperation can remain relevant and impactful—and how to best leverage limited resources to make them go further.
The DLC will also come just a few weeks ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). With that in mind, we will examine the changing development finance landscape, particularly the evolving role of Official Development Assistance, asking how innovative finance approaches, including those from South-South Cooperation, can be used to support sustainable development and a just transition. We will also look at the intersection between development and climate finance and discuss how the latter can be scaled up while providing greater value and alignment with partner countries’ priorities.
But perhaps the most urgent and cross-cutting issue is trust. As multilateralism is tested, development leaders are being called to reaffirm its value as a practical necessity for tackling global challenges. Discussions will focus on how to rebuild credibility, reinvigorate partnerships, and design cooperation models that reflect today’s multipolar realities.
While the world may be more fragmented, development leaders will come together in Hamburg to explore ways to renew our approach to cooperation in a rapidly changing world. As always, we look forward to the ideas, energy, and partnerships that emerge from this unique gathering. Stay tuned for our reflections from Hamburg in June.
