Seville, Spain, June 30 (EFE).- The 4th UN International Conference on Financing for Development kicked off Monday in the Spanish city of Seville with an opening ceremony presided over by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI of Spain.
Some 60 heads of state or government and up to 150 ministers are gathering through to next Thursday for the event, which aims to mobilize more resources for cooperation and reaffirm commitment to multilateralism.
All UN countries (193 members) are represented at the summit, except for the United States, which withdrew, arguing that it disagrees with several aspects of the final document, including those on gender, debt management, international trade and technology transfer.
At the opening ceremony, the king of Spain urged the conference to bolster the values of multilateralism amid global fears and uncertainties.
For the monarch, a message of renewed and vigorous impetus for the sustainable development agenda must emerge from Seville.
“I hope your voice is heard loud and clear. May a new roadmap emerge from here based on concrete, tangible and achievable results. Because in these times,” he added, “there is no better argument than concreteness to reach the entire international community.”
Following the opening ceremony, work began with the aim of boosting the commitments of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with only five years remaining until the deadline.
Over four days of work, roundtable discussions will be held on the action areas of the development financing agenda: taxation, private finance, development cooperation, trade and science, technology, and innovation; debt; and international financial architecture.
Multiple special events will also take place on the sidelines, of which host country Spain will lead six, and some 400 parallel events.
In addition, there will be a Civil Society Forum, a Feminist Forum, and the Day of Local and Regional Governments, in which representatives of Spanish regional governments and local entities will participate. EFE
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