“We are here in Seville to change course,” the UN Secretary-General said Monday at the Conference on Financing for Development. He called the meeting a “unique opportunity” to join forces and raise the $4 trillion needed to enable developing countries to achieve their development goals.
António Guterres has warned that international efforts on sustainable development are now facing “powerful headwinds”.
Opening the 4th Financing for Development Conference, which is taking place in Seville, Spain, amid record heat, he stressed that the very model of multilateral cooperation is now under pressure, and trust between countries and institutions is eroding.
“The world is in flames – rocked by inequality, climate chaos and brutal conflict,” the UN chief said. “Finance is the engine of development, and today that engine is suffocating,” he told the forum, which included more than 50 world leaders, representatives of over 150 countries and some 15,000 delegates. “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – our global path to a better and fairer future – is under threat.”
According to him, the implementation of approximately two-thirds of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015, is significantly behind schedule, and to catch up, it is necessary to accumulate about four trillion dollars.
“We are here in Seville to change course. To fix and rev up the engine of development, to accelerate investment at the scale and speed needed,” Guterres said.
He called Monday’s document, the Seville Commitment, a “global promise” to low-income countries to help them climb the development ladder. (The U.S. pulled out of the process earlier this month.)
The UN chief identified three key areas of action:
- First, ensure rapid resource flows within countries and ensure that rich countries meet their commitments to double aid to poor countries. This plan would triple the lending capacity of multilateral development banks and introduce innovative solutions to attract private capital.
- Second, reform the “unsustainable, unfair and unsustainable” global debt system. Currently, poor countries spend about $1.4 trillion on debt servicing alone. Among the proposals is the creation of a borrowers’ forum to ensure fair debt settlements.
- Third, redesign the global financial system with participation from all stakeholders so that it works in everyone’s interests. “We need a fairer global tax system, shaped by all, not a few.”
The stagnation in sustainable development efforts is felt by the population, António Guterres continued. The crisis is leaving families hungry, children unvaccinated and girls without an education.
“This conference is not about charity, it’s about restoring justice and ensuring that everyone can live in dignity,” Guterres said. “This is not about money, it’s about investing in our common future.”
A tangible and actionable roadmap
King Felipe of Spain spoke before the official opening, noting that multicultural Seville welcomes the world “with open arms.” He stressed that the meeting would result in a new roadmap based on “concrete, tangible and implementable measures.”
He added that the conference must be successful, because cooperation is one of the main pillars of the multilateral world and the embodiment of its values, especially at this turbulent moment in history.
“Our time is now”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Our time is now and our place is here.” Millions of lives would depend on decisions taken in Seville, he said.
“We must choose ambition over inaction, solidarity over indifference, courage over convenience,” he stressed, adding that the world expects decisive action from the participants in the Seville conference. According to him, Seville was “the New York of the 16th century” in the diplomatic sense and the cradle of globalism. The prime minister called for preserving this legacy.
Seville is not the finish, but the start
Conference Secretary-General Li Junhua, who heads the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the week in Seville was a key moment to mobilize resources for a just, inclusive and sustainable future.
He said the UN’s efforts to finance development had always been based on multilateralism and solidarity, but that the entire system was now “under severe pressure.”
“Seville is not the end point. It is the launching pad for a new era of implementation, accountability and solidarity,” he stressed. The UN, he said, stands ready to continue helping countries translate their commitments into concrete actions.
UN General Assembly President Philemon Young said the world needed leadership to guide it toward a brighter, more prosperous future. He said the Seville platform would help reset the global partnership and focus efforts to ease the debt burden that is suffocating developing countries.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said his core mission was to end poverty. He stressed that population growth in developing countries requires resources “at an unprecedented scale and pace.” That is why, he said, the private sector is key to implementing the Seville Agreement, since public and philanthropic resources cannot cover all the costs needed.
He added that the bank’s reforms are aimed at becoming a better partner for the private sector and government clients.
World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the global trading system was facing challenges after decades of positive developments. She warned that new tariffs planned by the United States from July 9 would only deepen the downturn.
The WTO, she said, calls for least developed countries, including African states, to be exempted from these tariffs. “The Seville Agreement rightly recognizes international trade as an engine of development,” she said.
IMF calls for broadening tax base
International Monetary Fund Deputy Head Nigel Clark called for a broadening of the tax base, stronger fiscal management and a more sustainable approach to debt.
“Many countries continue to struggle with high interest rates,” he said. The IMF helps countries develop their own strategies and provides support when needed.
https://news.un.org/ru/story/2025/06/1465776
Machine Translated by Google