Seventy heads of state and government will gather in Seville today for the Fourth UN International Conference on Financing for Development. The aim is to mobilize new resources for global cooperation and reaffirm the commitment to multilateralism. Notable absence from the meeting: the United States, EFE reported, quoted by BTA.
All 193 UN member states are officially represented, but the US expressed disagreement with some parts of the final declaration, especially on issues of gender equality, international trade, debt management and technology transfer.
The decision was made just days before a diplomatic conflict between US President Donald Trump and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the host of the meeting.
Trump criticized Spain for allocating only 2.1% of GDP to NATO defense spending - significantly below the agreed target of 5% among the alliance's member states.
The Trump administration, which was previously the largest donor of humanitarian aid with a 42% share, has significantly reduced its programs. Other major players, such as Germany, have also cut their aid budgets in favor of military spending, raising concerns among development advocates.
Despite Washington’s absence, the meeting will bring together an impressive lineup of world leaders.
Among those attending are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as leaders from Estonia, Poland, Portugal and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
High-level delegations from Latin America, Africa and Asia will also participate, as well as more than 200 official delegations from UN member states and international organizations.
More than 12,000 participants, including representatives of civil society, are expected to arrive in Seville. More than 370 side events are planned for the four-day meeting.
This is the first time that the Financing for Development Conference has been held in a European country.
The event will be opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI.
Organizers hope the conference will give a new impetus to efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, with only five years left until the deadline.
The last such conference was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2015 - the same year the UN adopted the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Spanish government has set the final document of the meeting - the "Seville Commitment" - as a major achievement even before the official start of the conference.
The text outlines strategies to improve financial instruments, expand fiscal space for developing countries, and unlock financing through public-private partnerships.
Particular attention is paid to the debt burden of developing countries - almost 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt service than on health or education.
In addition to financing, the meeting is also seen as a crucial show of support for multilateral cooperation, which is under increasing pressure from isolationist policies in countries such as the United States.
Hot global conflicts - including the war in Gaza, tensions between Israel and Iran, and the war in Ukraine - will not be part of the official agenda. However, most of the parties involved will be present at the event.