At the Seville summit, a “turning point” or the “status quo” for development?

After the conferences in Monterrey (2002), Doha (2008), and Addis Ababa (2015), it's time for Seville. The United Nations summit, which opens this Monday, June 30, in southern Spain, aims to relaunch international commitments to sustainable development, La Presse points out . As the Tunisian daily points out, "approximately $4 trillion" annually, or about €3.4 trillion, is missing each year "to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030," particularly in the fight against poverty and climate change.

The "Seville Compromise," which will be officially adopted there, does not propose a new roadmap, but it reinforces the commitments of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. This text places particular emphasis on expanding fiscal space, increasing tax revenues, ensuring public debt sustainability, and strengthening international cooperation. These are priorities that address the pressing needs of countries in the Global South, which often face heavy debt that limits their ability to finance essential public services, explains Financial Afrik .

However, the current context is marked by a notable drop in public development aid, a consequence of successive health, economic and geopolitical crises, indicates the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram .

Tensions have escalated with the withdrawal of the United States, which refuses to support several proposals, notably those relating to the fight against climate change, gender equality, and the reform of multilateral financial institutions, the Cairo media outlet further details. This withdrawal weakens the momentum surrounding development financing, amplifying the divergences between countries of the North and South.

According to Mamadou Goïta, a Malian socioeconomist and executive director of the Institute for Research and Promotion of Alternatives for Development (IRPAD), interviewed by the Beninese media outlet Fraternité , the FFD4 represents a decisive meeting for rethinking global financial mechanisms. It could be “a turning point, even if we can also fear a status quo in thinking about the development models we want to promote in terms of financing.”

“This meeting is a truly important moment in human history, given the current positions of states regarding development aid. It is essential to ask the right questions.”

For Mamadou Goïta, the goal is to better meet the needs of developing countries, which are awaiting concrete solutions to their budgetary constraints and the climate emergency. The success of this meeting will depend on the ability of stakeholders to find common ground, despite their differences.