The Sevilla Commitment: What comes next?

From 30 June to 3 July 2025, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) took place in Sevilla, Spain. According to the United Nations (UN) Member States, the conference was designed to assess progress and obstacles in implementing the decisions of the three previous conferences in Monterrey (2002), Doha (2008) and Addis Ababa (2015), as well as agreeing on measures and initiatives to overcome the obstacles and address new challenges in light of current global crises. The main goal was to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to support reforms in the international financial architecture.

The official outcome of the FfD4 conference is the Sevilla Commitment (Compromiso de Sevilla). The 42-page document is intended to set out the global framework for development financing in the years to come. Given the geopolitical conflicts, the fact that the Sevilla Commitment was adopted by consensus is, in itself, a notable achievement. This was only possible because the US withdrew from the process on the final day of preparations and decided not to participate in the Sevilla conference.

The governments’ goal in Sevilla was to launch an ambitious package to reform the international financial architecture tp close the estimated US$ 4 trillion annual financing gap for the SDGs and boost large-scale investment in sustainable development, among other things. However, the Sevilla Commitment falls short of this ambition, with outcomes that remain largely vague and non-binding.

This briefing highlights some of the tangible decisions included in the Sevilla Commitment, beyond diplomatic platitudes. It outlines the tasks that the international community must tackle in the next few years in order to meet the self-imposed goal of advancing the financing of the 2030 Agenda, implementing structural reforms in the international financial architecture and strengthening inclusive multilateralism under the umbrella of the UN.