World Leaders Adopt Wide-Ranging Blueprint to Close Development Finance Gap, Mobilize Investment for Sustainable Growth, as Conference Opens in Sevilla
SEVILLA, SPAIN (30 June) — World leaders today pledged a bold reform agenda to close the widening development finance gap and mobilize investment for sustainable growth, as they adopted the Sevilla Commitment at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.
Adopted by consensus (document A/CONF.227/2025/L.1), the 42-page outcome document commits Member States to reforming the global financial architecture to make it more resilient, coherent and effective, placing people at the heart of policy and investment decisions. "We will place people at the centre of all our actions and reaffirm the path to a brighter future," the document states.
Reaffirming gender equality as a development imperative, leaders pledged, among other things, to create decent jobs, expand tax systems, eliminate abusive tax loopholes and promote entrepreneurship and foreign direct investment, particularly in developing countries. They also vowed to reverse the ongoing decline in official development assistance (ODA) and strengthen a fair and transparent multilateral trading system.
Calling the Sevilla Commitment a "global promise to fix how the world supports countries as they climb the development ladder", UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that, despite progress, international cooperation is under strain. Trust is fraying, multilateralism is strained, economies are slowing, trade tensions are rising and aid budgets are decimated, he said. Noting that 9 of the 10 countries with the lowest human development indicators are currently experiencing conflict, he declared: "This is not just a crisis of numbers — it’s a crisis of people."
Estimated 4ドル Trillion Annual Financing Gap Jeopardizing Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals
Spanish President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, hosting the summit, echoed the call for global solidarity. "In a world in which the donor community is shrinking drastically, the time has come to step forward," he stressed. With an estimated 4ドル trillion annual financing gap jeopardizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he urged leaders to resist a return to "injustice" and called for debt sustainability, tax justice and development aid, saying: "There is no North and no South — there is just one humanity."
Philémon Yang, President of the General Assembly, pressed Governments to meet the 0.7 per cent ODA target. "If fulfilled, these funds could translate into fewer people going hungry, fewer children out of school, and more people participating in global progress," he said. He also pushed for a convention on international tax cooperation to curb illicit financial flows — which drain an estimated 88ドル.6 billion from developing countries annually.
Calls for Representative, Responsive, Resilient Global Finance
Robert Rae (Canada), President of the Economic and Social Council, underscored the urgency of climate finance, warning that vulnerable populations "shoulder the heaviest burdens and receive the fewest resources." He urged an end to institutional silos and a transformation of global finance to be "representative, responsive and resilient".
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, described this moment as an "inflection point" for development. With a youth boom in emerging markets, he stressed the need to ensure children access basic services and jobs. "Jobs are the surest way to put a nail in the coffin of poverty," he said, but creating them will require resources "at an unprecedented pace and scale" — including from the private sector.
"The global trading system has been severely disrupted," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said, pointing to record policy uncertainty and rising tariffs. She called for reforms to deepen regional trade, redirect harmful subsidies — including part of the 2ドル trillion locked up in harmful subsidies, including for fossil fuels.
Nigel Clarke, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stressed to world leaders the importance of broadening the tax base, building strong financial management systems and addressing debt sustainability. "Many countries continue to struggle with high interest costs," he emphasized, urging the international community to improve debt-restructuring processes. The Fund is helping countries build resilient economies and restructure debt to help them achieve economic and financial stability — a prerequisite to achieve their development potential.
Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity to Shift Tide, Address Systemic Imbalances
Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, called the conference a "once-in-a-decade opportunity to shift the tide". The Sevilla Commitment is a "renewed global promise" to mobilize finance at scale, reform the international financial architecture and "put people’s needs at the centre of development".
During the subsequent discussion, several world leaders highlighted the challenges their countries face in striving to realize their full potential for sustainable development. They pointed to heavy debt burdens, declining development financing and emerging global crises as major obstacles. Many emphasized that these hurdles are compounded by an unjust international financial architecture, making progress towards sustainable development overwhelmingly difficult.
Abdul Latif Rashid, President of Iraq, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said the Sevilla pact must serve as a "foundation to address the systemic imbalances in the global economic and financial system", underscoring the need to strengthen domestic resource mobilization, improve the international tax system, reform the international financial architecture, ensure fair representation of developing countries in international financial institutions and eliminate all unilateral economic measures against developing countries.
Troubling global trends are disproportionately affecting landlocked developing countries such as Armenia, its President, Vahagn Khachaturyan, warned. Instead of being able to fully invest in building resilience to climate-related disasters, Armenia is compelled to divert critical resources towards servicing its debt, he said. Echoing many speakers, he emphasized the urgent need to address systemic inequalities and structural shortcomings in the global financial system.
Calls for Social Justice, End to Economic, Financial Corruption
Echoing a similar sentiment, Uruguay’s President, Yamandú Orsi, underscored the importance of equity in international finance: "We believe that social justice cannot be built when you treat what is not the same as if it were," he said, calling for a more inclusive, fairer global financial institutions.
Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras, echoed calls of several leaders to intensify the fight against corruption, underscoring the importance of transparency in the financial and economic sectors. She recalled how her predecessor had dismantled the country’s productive base while shielding the powerful from tax obligations. In Honduras, she noted, the wealthiest contributed little to nothing in taxes, while the poorest bore a burden of nearly 50 per cent. "We have begun to dismantle this perverse system," she declared, highlighting her Administration’s efforts to support low-income families through access to housing and small business loans.
Plight of Conflict-Affected Countries, Post-War Rebuilding
Some countries underscored their plight as nations affected by conflict, and some shared challenges they face in post-war rebuilding. "Our once-fertile fields are now littered with mines and bombs instead of grain," Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, said, capturing the plight of countries at war. He called on world leaders to support the Black Sea Grain Initiative to help address the global food crisis caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression. "You are not just investing Ukraine, you are investing in peace and global stability," he said to Kyiv’s partners.
Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine, said that, for the State of Palestine "unfortunately, we have not been able to do what we have to do to achieve the 2030 Agenda because of what is happening on the ground". The State of Palestine and its people have been "left far behind". Israel, the occupying Power, continues to escalate settler violence and military assaults, and is imposing severe restrictions that cripple economic activity. More than 2ドル.3 billion has been unlawfully withheld by the Israeli Government — funds that "rightfully" belong to the Palestinian people. "If this situation continues to be unresolved, the consequences of fiscal collapse will be unprecedented for us and for the region," he warned.
Addressing Africa’s Debt Burden, Concerns of Least Developed Countries
João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola, speaking for the African Group, spotlighted the issue of Africa’s debt, which "acts as a brake on development" and "consumes more resources than those allocated to health and education combined". Nevertheless, he said that he is "confident" that the conference will adopt decisions that will reduce the costs of indebtedness and strengthen African countries’ influence in global financial governance.
"We cannot go it alone," said Mohamed Younis A Menfi, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya. Stressing that Libya’s rich natural resources, robust sovereign fund and strategic location in the Mediterranean make it a valuable regional partner, he said that developing countries like Libya need help alleviating their debt burdens.
Other speakers from across Africa also echoed the call for a more inclusive global financial architecture. Daniel Francisco Chapo, President of Mozambique, stressed the importance of innovative instruments, such as blended finance. José Maria Neves, President of Cabo Verde, highlighted the many economic reforms his Government has put in place but warned that "no degree of internal rigour" can compensate for systematic inequitable constraints. "Africa is not asking for favours, we are asking for fairness," stressed William Ruto, President of Kenya, as he called on the United States to reconsider its position. The continent is ready to become the next frontier of global innovation, he affirmed.
K. P. Sharma Oli, Nepal’s Prime Minister, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries, also called for justice and fairness in the global economic architecture. "We stand for a rules-based and equitable trading system where all countries accrue benefits," he also added. "We promised to leave no one behind [...] but inequality is rising between and within nations," he cautioned.
King Mswati III, Head of State of Eswatini, said that the quest to ensure a fair financing system for developing countries "must not be misinterpreted as a matter of charity, but as a necessity", calling for reforms in credit-rating agencies, more equitable allocation of special drawing rights and a move towards more innovative mechanisms, such as climate bonds, blended finance and debt-for-nature swaps.
European Union Strongly Committed to Official Development Assistance (ODA), New Financing Paradigm
António Costa, President of the European Council — speaking for the European Union and its Member States — pointed out that the bloc provides 42 per cent of ODA, totalling 95ドル billion in 2023. The European Union is further committed to reform international financial architecture and mobilize new sources of financing.
"Our commitment is here to stay," added Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, speaking for the European Union. As the SDG financing gap is in the trillions of dollars, a "change of paradigm" is needed to close it — and that, she said, is "exactly what Europe aims to deliver".