How can we bridge the gap of inequality between donor and recipient, the developing and the developed, the researchers and the researched, to serve the health systems of tomorrow? The four speakers, despite coming from a diversity of backgrounds, made an important contribution to this forum by emphasizing the need for a mutual, supportive partnership between those at either extreme of the inequality gap. Ways of achieving this partnership are closely linked to research on health-related issues and training of a global health workforce, but there is no doubt that further research is crucial to arrive at effective outcomes on both the national and the international level.