UN aid summit in Seville calls for concrete action against global development cuts

The United Nation’s International Conference on Financing for Development takes place every 10 years. It was first held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, then in Doha, Qatar, in Monterrey, Mexico, and this week it is taking place in Seville, Spain. Attended by more than 70 world leaders and led by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, the gathering was officially opened on Monday by the king of Spain, Felipe VI, with a message: that this meeting should produce “a new roadmap based on concrete, tangible, and achievable results” as the world adapts to the development funding cuts announced by the United States and other countries who are swapping aid for defense spending.

Felipe VI, accompanied by Queen Letizia Ortiz — who hosted a dinner for more than 100 dignitaries last night — stated that development aid is the tool that builds the future of its recipients, and that there is an “obvious lack of funding,” in a veiled criticism of decisions such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to slash funding to USAID, the largest cooperation agency in the world. The U.S. is not attending the conference and has distanced itself from the final declaration.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday said that this summit will “try to rebuild trust” at a time when “economic growth has slowed down, trade barriers are growing and development aid is dwindling.” He described the present moment as “a time of difficulty and division of the human family.”

“To have the United States on board would be excellent but it can be done in any case by those willing to do so,” added Guterres. The summit hopes to drum up trillions of dollars in support to combat poverty. “Financing is the engine of development. And right now, this engine is sputtering,” said the U.N. leader.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain will contribute €145 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria for the 2027-2029 period, a rise from its previous contribution.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, also took the podium on Monday to assert that “we will never give up. The EU and its member states will continue to lead this battle for human dignity and for the planet.” But the leader of the European executive also acknowledged that “multilateralism is not going through its best moment.”

The Sevilla Agreement features the Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA), with over 130 concrete initiatives to “help countries mobilize resources for an investment push, build developing countries’ development capacity, help address the sustainable development debt crisis, and take steps to improve the system by which the developing world can borrow money for national investment without crippling debt burdens,” said the U.N. in a release Monday.

Around 4,000 representatives from businesses, non-profits and other groups are expected at the summit, which runs through July 3.

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