Celebrity Media Editor’s Note: The successful conclusion of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla marks a significant step forward in global efforts to reshape the international financial system. With 130 concrete initiatives emerging from the gathering, the Sevilla Commitment—Compromiso de Sevilla—has been transformed from a shared vision into actionable strategies. These outcomes reflect a unified global will to increase investment in sustainable development, confront the growing debt crisis faced by the world’s poorest nations, and amplify the voices of developing countries in global financial governance. This milestone conference may well represent a turning point toward a more equitable and resilient financial future.
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development concluded today (03 Jul) in Sevilla, Spain, with 130 initiatives turning the Sevilla Commitment or Compromiso de Sevilla into action through concrete steps to boost investment in sustainable development, address the debt crisis afflicting many of the world’s poorest countries, and give developing countries a stronger voice in the international financing architecture.
At the closing of the Conference , Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed also announced that the Spanish government, with support the UN Secretary General in consultation with Member States and stakeholders will operationalize the Sevilla Forum on Debt, which would help countries learn from one another and coordinate their approaches in debt management, negotiation and restructuring.
The UN deputy chief highlighted, “Everyone is focused on implementation, implementation and implementation.”
“The commitments agreed in the outcome document come with specifics, and Member States, financial institutions, businesses and civil society are already looking ahead at how these commitments can be delivered with a can-do attitude,” she said, adding “taken together resolve practicality and implementation, this provides a basis for rebuilding trust and solidarity.”
The Deputy Secretary-Genera stressed, “The journey ahead is not going to be easy. The global challenges we face will not be overcome overnight. But I leave Sevilla confident that we can walk that path together with clarity, with courage, a sense of purpose and commitment.”
“Let FFD4 Sevilla be remembered as a conference where the world chose cooperation over fragmentation, unity over division and action over inaction. Let us leave here inspired and ready to finance the future that we want,” the UN deputy chief concluded.
For his part, Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister (officially known as President of the Government) said, “In a divided world, from Sevilla we have sent a message of unity. So Sevilla Commitment or Compromiso de Sevilla is essential in that respect, we have agreed on an agreement that mobilizes resources in order to channel greater financing and increase the fiscal capacity of developing countries.”
“We have reached an agreement that improves debt sustainability and accountability mechanisms. And in addition, this commitment brings with it more than 130 specific actions through the Sevilla Platform for Action,” Sanchez said.
He reiterated, “Today we are not just closing a conference, we are opening up a new path and we are doing so by working on something that is so much more powerful than the hate speech and the confrontation that others seem to prone. We have been defending what truly matters, and our voice is stronger because it is underpinned by reason, by the fact that we are on the right side of history.”
“When years will have gone by, and when we look back, all of us who are here today will remember Sevilla, and we remember this moment with pride. We will be proud of having done the right thing when it was absolutely crucial to do so. We are defending the power of words above force and turning words into action,” Sanchez concluded.
The Sevilla Commitment, adopted by consensus at the start of the Conference, lays out a path to close the $4 trillion annual SDG financing gap in developing countries. It is the first inter-governmentally agreed financing for development framework since 2015, and a rallying call to overhaul a system that is failing billions of people and pushing global goals further out of reach.
At a time of rising debt, declining investment, shrinking aid and escalating trade tensions, sustainable development faces unprecedented headwinds. The consequences are stark: 3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education. With five years left to achieve the SDGs in increasingly uncertain times, the Sevilla Commitment charts a path on three fronts: Catalyzing investment at scale for sustainable development; Addressing the debt and development crisis; Reforming the international financial architecture
Under the Sevilla Platform for Action, 130 initiatives were launched over the course of four days of the Conference to begin implementing the Sevilla Commitment. Initiatives focused on boosting public and private investment for sustainable development, including actions to strengthen tax systems and domestic resource mobilization.
New financing mechanisms were announced to tackle unsustainable debt burdens, and additional initiatives aimed to enhance crisis response and climate resilience, expand access to social protection and support local and digital economies, among others
Building on the foundations laid by the Monterrey Consensus (2002), Doha Declaration (2008), and Addis Ababa Action Agenda (2015), as well as the Pact for the Future adopted at the UN last September, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), took place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July 2025. The Conference brought together over 15,000 participants, including nearly 60 Heads of State and Government, and featured more than 470 side and special events, alongside flagship sessions such as the International Business Forum, SDG Investment Fair, and a series of announcements under the Sevilla Platform for Action.
