Your Excellency, President Pedro Sanchez, Excellencies, Distinguished guests,Dear colleagues,
At the opening of this conference, the Secretary-General remarked that, for decades, the mission of sustainable development has united countries.
Yet today, development and its great enabler — international cooperation — are facing massive headwinds.
Over the last four days – through formal sessions, 6 multistakeholder roundtables, 400 side-meetings and special sessions, and countless bilateral discussions - we have reckoned with this challenge.
The human consequences of rising debt burdens, escalating trade tensions, and steep cuts to official development assistance have been brought into sharp relief.
Likewise, we understand all too well the collateral damage that competing government priorities can have on development finance, and that global support for sustainable development can no longer be taken for granted.
Nevertheless, amid this sobering backdrop, the Sevilla conference has delivered a powerful response.
We have agreed an outcome document – the Compromiso de Sevilla – that upholds the commitments from Addis Ababa ten years ago, and seeks toÌýrekindle the sense of hope embodied in the SustainableÌýDevelopment Goals.
The outcome document contains three major areas of commitments.
First, an investment push to close the financing gap.
This incorporates steps to grow the full capital stack: domestic, international and private capital.
Second, at last, a serious attempt to confront the debt crisis.
The actions agreed here seek to reset how debt is used, managed, and treated, to make it work in service of sustainable development. ÌýÌýÌý
Third, the elevation of developing countries throughout the international financial architecture.
Developing countries need to be heard in global policymaking - just as they have been at this conference.
In addition to the outcome document, the conference has witnessed the unveiling of more than 130 initiatives to turn the outcome document into action: through the Sevilla Platform for Action.
The Platform includes:
A debt pause alliance to relieve countries of fiscal stress in times of crisis.
A new tool for Multilateral Development Banks to manage currency risks.
A commission to explore the future of development cooperation.
And the introduction of the world's first solidarity levy on premium-class flights and private jets to generate new resources for sustainable development including climate action.
In addition, I’m delighted to report today that the Spanish Government will support the UN Secretary-General, in consultation with Member States and stakeholders, to operationalize the Sevilla Forum on Debt, to help countries learn from one another and coordinate their approaches in debt management negotiations and restructuring.
As I think back over the past four days, I've been struck by three aspects about this conference.
First is the remarkable sense of resolve on display.
Attendees here are under no illusion of the difficulty of our current context.
But they have approached this moment with a sense of unity and solidarity, and demonstrated that inter-governmental processes still matter and still work.
I hope this spirit will be taken forward into the World Summit for Social Development, the G20 and COP30 later this year.
Second, the conference has been deeply practical.
In today’s constrained financial environment, our community is working to stretch the resources we have, and to focus them where they’re most needed, to confront the largest problems, and search for
innovative solutions.
Third, everyone is focused on 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 will be
delivered, with a can-do attitude.
Taken together - resolve, practicality and implementation – this provides a basis for rebuilding trust and solidarity. Ìý
Let me conclude by sincerely thanking the people and the Government of Spain, who have proven not only to be gracious hosts, but have demonstrated outstanding leadership on sustainable development.
Excellencies,
The journey ahead will not 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 be remembered as a conference where the world chose cooperation over fragmentation, unity over division, and action over inertia.
Let us leave here inspired and ready to finance the future that we want.
Thank you.
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