The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development concluded today 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.
“The human consequences of rising debt burdens, escalating trade tensions and steep cuts to official development assistance have been brought into sharp relief this week,” the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in closing remarks. “Yet, against this sobering backdrop, the Sevilla conference delivered a strong response—a unifying outcome document focused on solutions that reaffirms the Addis Ababa commitments made a decade ago, renews hope through the SDGs, and shows that multilateral cooperation still matters and still works.
“Let FFD4 be remembered as a conference where the world chose cooperation over fragmentation, unity over division and action over inertia.”
“Sevilla will be remembered not as a landing zone, but as a launchpad for action, to improve livelihoods across the world. Together, we have sent a strong message of commitment and trust in multilateralism that can yield tangible results to put sustainable development back on track,” said Carlos Cuerpo, Spain’s Economy Minister, at the closing press conference.
“This Conference has proven that the United Nations is more than just a space for dialogue; it is a powerful platform for solutions that transform lives,” said Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the Conference. “In Sevilla, we have demonstrated our collective will to confront the most urgent and complex financing challenges of our time. The Compromiso de Sevilla stands as a testament to our sense of resolve, outlining the commitments, solutions, and actions to put us back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”
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
Sevilla Platform for Action
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. Initiative highlights include:
To address debt challenges:
- A Debt Swaps for Development Hub, led by Spain and the World Bank, to strengthen capacity and enhance collaboration to scale up debt swaps and lower debt service burdens;
- A Debt-for-Development Swap Programme by Italy that will convert 230 million Euros of debt obligations of African countries into investments in development projects;
- A Debt “Pause Clause” Alliance where a coalition of countries and Multilateral Development Banks (Canada, France, Spain, UK, the Inter-American Development Bank, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank and Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean) commit to including “pause clauses” in their lending, to suspend debt service payments during crises;
- A Sevilla Forum on Debt to help countries learn from one another and coordinate their approaches in debt management and restructuring, with a UN entity serving as its secretariat, with support from Spain.
To catalyze investment with development impact:
- To raise new revenue, a Coalition for Global Solidarity Levies, led by France, Kenya and Barbados, supported by Benin, Somalia, Zambia and Spain, to tax premium-class flying and private jets in a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development.
- A blended finance platform, SCALED, to scale up blended financing, led by a coalition of countries (Germany, Canada, France, UK, Denmark, and South Africa) and financial institutions (including Allianz, AXA SA, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and Zurich Insurance Group) to support efforts to create effective and replicable, scalable blended finance instruments and funds with development impact;
- To increase local currency lending, FX EDGE, a new Multilateral Development Bank toolbox for FX-risk management instruments, led by the Inter-American Development Bank, and Delta, a liquidity platform by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to help development finance institutions provide local currency lending;
- An Effective Taxation of High-Net-Worth Individuals initiative, led by Brazil and Spain, to ensure high-net-worth individuals pay their fair share.
- A Technical Assistance Hub by public development banks, led by the Finance in Common Secretariat and the International Development Finance Club, and a pooled Multilateral Development Bank Technical Assistance Platform for project preparation, led by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
To support architecture reform at national and global levels:
- A new generation of country-owned platforms with country-led financing strategies, led by a coalition of countries (including South Africa and Egypt), the Integrated National Financing Framework Facility and development banks, in support of national plans and strategies.
- A coalition led by the UK and the Bridgetown Initiative to scale-up pre-arranged financing from 2 per cent to 20 per cent of total disaster financing by 2035.
International Business Forum
At the International Business Forum, taking place in parallel to the Conference, global business leaders issued a strong call to action to unlock private capital for sustainable development, outlining five priority areas for impact investment in a Communiqué launched alongside the Sevilla Commitment.
For the first time, major business groups and investor alliances coordinated efforts through the FFD4 Business Steering Committee, underscoring private sector commitment. The Forum showcased practical ways to shift capital toward the SDGs, particularly in developing countries, through high level policy dialogues, sessions on innovations, best practices, and focused roundtables. In addition, over $5 billion in projects were pitched by developing countries to investors and development financiers at the SDG Investment Fair.
About the Conference
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 50 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.
