Seville, Spain, Jun 29 (EFE).- Seventy heads of state and government will gather in Seville on Monday for the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development, aiming to mobilize new resources for global cooperation and reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism. Notably absent from the summit: the United States.
While all 193 UN member states are officially represented, the US has opted out citing disagreements with several points in the final declaration, particularly around gender equality, international trade, debt management, and technology transfer.
The decision came days before a diplomatic spat between United States President Donald Trump and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, host of the summit.
Trump criticized Spain for contributing only 2.1% of its GDP to NATO defense spending, well below the 5% goal agreed upon by alliance members.
The Trump administration, once the largest donor of humanitarian aid at 42%, has significantly scaled back its programs, and other key players, like Germany, have also reduced aid budgets in favor of military spending, raising alarm among development advocates.
High-level participation from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia
Despite Washington’s absence, the summit will bring together an impressive roster of global leaders.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and leaders from Estonia, Poland, Portugal, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among those attending.
High-level delegations from Latin America, Africa, and Asia will also be present, along with 200 official delegations from UN member states and international organizations.
More than 12,000 attendees are expected in Seville, including representatives from civil society, and over 370 side events are scheduled throughout the four-day gathering.
Guterres, Sánchez, and King Felipe VI to open historic conference
This is the first time the Financing for Development Conference has been held in a European country.
The event will be inaugurated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and King Felipe VI.
Organizers hope the conference will reinvigorate momentum toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with just five years remaining to achieve its goals.
The last such conference was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2015, the same year the UN adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The “Seville Commitment”: flexible financing and debt relief
The Spanish government considers the outcome document, the Seville Commitment, a key achievement, even before the conference officially begins.
The text outlines strategies to enhance financial tools, improve fiscal space for developing countries, and unlock funding through public-private partnerships.
A major focus is on the debt burden of developing countries, with nearly 3.3 billion people living in nations that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education.
Beyond financing, the summit is seen as a critical show of support for multilateral cooperation, which is increasingly under pressure from isolationist policies in countries like the US.
Hot-button global conflicts, including the war in Gaza, tensions between Israel and Iran, and the war in Ukraine, will not be on the official agenda. However, most stakeholders in those conflicts will be in attendance. EFE
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