A key global summit began on Monday in Seville, Spain, with over 50 world leaders convening to address multiple crises facing the world, including poverty, climate change, and the slowing pace of progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a report published by Reuters on Monday.
Seville Summit Opens With Increasing Global Challenges
Being considered a “once-in-a-decade” event, the summit, the report said, is designed to boost international cooperation despite declining trust between nations and pressure on multilateralism.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his opening remarks at the Spain summit, said, “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—our global promise to transform our world for a better, fairer future—is in danger,” as reported by Reuters.
US Skips the Spain Summit
A notable absence was that of US President Donald Trump, whose administration not only pulled out of the summit but also declined to endorse the global plan of action developed over the past year, in a move that effectively dealt a blow to global hopes for a unified momentum from the world’s largest economy.
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UN Chief Voices Concerns Over Funding Gaps
Voicing concerns over pressing matters of global importance, Guterres further said that with two-thirds of the sustainable development goals off course, the world currently requires more than $4 trillion a year to fill the gap. “Countries need—and deserve—a system that reduces borrowing costs, facilitates equitable and timely debt restructuring, and keeps debt crises from occurring in the first place,” he noted, per Reuters.
The UN Secretary-General also urged the immediate reform of development banks, more equitable credit rating systems, and steps to assist nations in raising domestic taxes for development.
The Sevilla Commitment
The summit’s central product, the “Sevilla Commitment”, is aimed at redefining how international development is funded, especially against the backdrop of relatively strong world economies cutting aid budgets. Guterres emphasized the document represents a “global promise to repair” the present shattered system.
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