Most of the urgent problems can only be solved with international cooperation.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Opinion 1

The world has urgent problems which need to be solved, preferably sooner than later. I believe that if countries work together, they can solve problems faster than if they tried to solve these problems independently.

There is an old saying: “Two heads are better than one.” This applies to the attempts to solve world problems. For example, pollution is a problem which is affecting all of us, regardless of what country we live in. In working together, countries can combine their financial and intellectual resources to solve these problems faster and more economically. If one country has already developed techniques and processes to prevent or reduce pollution, it will benefit all of us if that country will share its resources on that.

On the other hand, if a country tries to solve a problem independently, that country is likely to spend more time and money in its attempts to do so and the solutions may not be as effective as the solutions from working in cooperation with other countries. For example, if one country is determined to solve the problem of terrorism, many of those efforts will go to waste if the neighboring country is not working to do the same. Some terrorists may take shelter in those countries which hardly care about the crimes and harm that they have done, and this would never put an end to terrorism.

Countries will be better served to solve the world’s problems through cooperation. In doing so, countries will be able to share information and expenditures that will allow for the problems to be solved in a quicker, more efficient, and less expensive manner.

Opinion 2

In the ever-accelerating process of globalization, the relationship among countries in getting closer and closer and international cooperation is more frequent than before. Some people believe that most of the urgent problems can only be tackled by cooperation of different countries, but I think not all problems need to depend on international cooperation.

Admittedly, international cooperation can handle many urgent problems. For example, global warning has caused many serious problems and needs international cooperation urgently, so it is necessary for foreign countries to work together. Moreover, when it comes to extreme circumstances like tsunami and earthquake, domestic help is far from enough. International help, including food, tents and rescue equipment are in great demand. For example, after a devastating earthquake happened in China in 2008, over 20 countries offered help timely and avoided more casualties.

However, not all problems can be solved by international cooperation. For instance, in some developing countries where people starve to death and die from epidemics, food and medical equipment are in great demand. However, this problem cannot be solved by merely accepting assistance from other countries, which is not a long-term solution. Instead, people there should depend on themselves to improve technology and economy. Additionally, some problems are related to religion and policy which are too sensitive that foreign counties’ help may make the situation worse, so it is much better to leave the problems to themselves.

In conclusion, most countries are now closely connected with each other and many urgent problems can be better handled with international cooperation. However, some problems can only be solved by people from their own countries. It is crucial to distinguish different problems and then decide how to solve them.