In this particular moment of global crisis—economic, geopolitical, health, labor, and even relational—the topic of international cooperation and integration as a gateway between worlds seems more central than ever. The editorial team of Green Company Magazine discussed this with Paolo Patrizio, Secretary General of the International Council for Italo-Arab Cooperation.

Secretary, how do you see the current situation?

Today, the world faces yet another crossroads, as the multi-level global emergencies that have severely and variably impacted every corner of the planet have undoubtedly marked a reset point. We are, therefore, called to make fundamental choices that will determine the fate of the immediate present and even the near future, because, in the end, the bifurcation ahead admits only one direction and excludes any possibility of reconsideration or retreat.

We are thus faced with two choices. We can work to increase our level of cooperation, interconnection, and international integration in view of collective growth, driven by the power of a shared goal that knows no boundaries. Or we can retreat into isolationist logics, seemingly conservative of sectoral interests, risking the spread of large-scale recessionary phenomena, with the consequent collapse of weaker economies and simultaneous rise in international and internal tensions.

What role does international cooperation play in this context?

John Stuart Mill wrote, “There is no better proof of the progress of a civilization than the progress of cooperation.” It is indeed undeniable how the proliferation of extended international cooperation, established within a process of overall improvement of the geopolitical framework, can significantly contribute to broadening the shared horizon of stability, peace, and widespread growth, allowing for effective integration of systems, sectors, and people on a large scale.

The logics of economic, environmental, and social interdependence that permeate all intercontinental contexts lead us to understand how the globalized world increasingly becomes a single nation. In this moment of profound interconnection, it is therefore necessary to identify alternative models that can bridge and preserve different cultures, traditions, and intellectual properties while simultaneously fostering integration, social growth, human promotion, and peace maintenance. We need to work on a modern conception of cooperative contribution, as a mix of empowerment and dialogue, in effective realization of the principles of mutual trust, mutual support, mutual benefit, and reciprocal prosperity.

How can we bridge the gaps that often separate us?

What really matters, in the end, is not the more or less exact measurement of the distance between two positions, but rather the actual acknowledgment of the existence of that separation as a foundational prerequisite for the possibility of cooperative engagement, precisely in its role of filling the gap. It is only through the acceptance of distance that our understanding of the other is refined, making the gap between worlds an opportunity and primary tool for knowledge and, at the same time, a chance for enhanced learning.

Reducing distances, then, becomes the first essential but not yet sufficient step towards achieving the right level of cooperation. More is needed—a quid pluris. History teaches us that after the step of mutual contamination, after the acceptance of differences, we must work on sharing the perspective that judgment absoluteness does not exist, thereby abandoning divisive elements born from a claim of cultural primacy, rooted in an ancient dominator mindset that poorly aligns with the modern perspectives of 21st-century international cooperation.

What is the goal of effective international cooperation?

The ultimate goal of the best future cooperation will have to be so penetrating and paradoxical as to appear, at times, evanescent and imperceptible: the final purpose of cooperation, indeed, will be to become unnecessary, to disappear, making way for a system of radical inclusion, where distances should be considered annulled, and only expressions of equal cooperation should persist. In this progressive empowerment journey, the fate of the Earth’s inhabitants will be intertwined, leading, ultimately, to the truest perception of the intimate concept of cooperation and inclusion, which can be summarized in the extension of the best human projection beyond oneself, as a true portal between worlds or parallel realities, destined to merge into a timeless dimension called humanity.

Paolo Patrizio, a Supreme Court Lawyer, Secretary General of the International Council for Italo-Arab Cooperation, Arbitrator at the International Arbitration Chamber, and Chief of Staff at Meritocrazia Italia. Professor at the United Nations International University for Peace – Rome (Upeace N.U) and Local Scientific Director of “IL GIUSLAVORISTA.IT” for GIUFFRÈ Francis Lefebvre Publisher, is also a Professional Partner, Author, and Trainer for Sole 24 Ore.

Listed in 2022 by Forbes among the top 100 Professionals and recognized by Sole 24 Ore and Statista among the Law Firms of the Year 2022, after being awarded by Fonti Awards as the best Boutique of Excellence of the Year 2021 in Fintech and the Year 2020 in Labor Law, he is co-author of the volumes “Il Covid 19 e l’impatto sull’economia italiana,” June 2022, Edizioni Universitalia, “BASIC INCOME Means for the eradication of extreme poverty or basis of a new world order,” published by the Department of Political Sciences of the United Nations International University Rome, April 2021, “FINTECH The new frontier of the financial offer,” Edizioni Onthewave, 2020, Rome.