FFD4 Programme

• Opening of the Conference
• Election of the President
• Opening statements by:
  • Pedro Sánchez, President of the Conference and the Government of Spain
  • António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • Philemon Yang, President of the United Nations General Assembly
  • Bob Rae, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
  • Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group
  • Nigel Clarke, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization
  • Li Junhua, Secretary-General of the Conference
• Adoption of the rules of procedure
• Adoption of the agenda
• Election of officers other than the President
• Organization of work and other organizational matters
• Credentials of representatives to the Conference: appointment of the members of the Credentials Committee
• General debate
• Statements by Heads of State or Government, ministers and heads of delegation

Overflow Rooms INFO for the FFD4 Opening

• General debate: Statements by Heads of State or Government, ministers and heads of delegation

Co-Chairs: 

• H.E. Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue, Pakistan 

• H.E. Mr. Christopher MacLennan, Deputy Minister of International Development, Canada 

Special address by Head of State and Government: 

• H.E. Mr. Luis Arce Catacora, President of Bolivia (tbc) 

Keynote: 

• Mr. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, African Union Commission Chairperson (tbc) 

Moderator: 

Mr. Courtney Rattray, Under-Secretary-General and Chef de Cabinet, United Nations 

Panelists: 

• H.E. Mr. Mehmet Simsek, Minister of Finance, Türkiye 

• H.E. Ms. Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Austria 

• H.E. Ms. Retselisitsoe Matlanyane, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Lesotho 

• H.E. Mr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zambia 

Discussants: 

• Mr. Boris Titov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Relations with International Organizations for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Russian Federation 

• Mr. Odile Renaud-Basso, President, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 3

Background 

Private business activity, investment, and innovation are significant drivers of sustainable development in the past decades. However, private sector dynamism slowed after the 2008 world financial and economic crisis, in parallel with the broader macroeconomic slowdown, which also led to a widening Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) investment gap. Annual investment growth in developing countries halved from 8% to 4% between 2007 and 2020. Many countries and sectors that need it the most continue to receive insufficient investment, particularly Least Developed and other vulnerable countries. Despite increased attention to innovative finance instruments such as blended finance and the growing adoption of sustainable business and finance legislation, investment in sustainable development have fallen short of expectations. 

The Sevilla outcome document outlines actions aimed at addressing key barriers to unlocking private business and finance at scale in support of sustainable development, including: i) strengthening domestic financial and capital markets in developing countries, building enabling environments for sustainable development, building capacities for diversification and industrialization, and enabling greater access to finance for women, marginalized groups, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises; ii) promoting foreign direct investment in sustainable development, and enhancing countries’ capacities to attract such investments, and scaling up and a new approach to blended finance, aimed at enhancing effectiveness and impact and scaling its use; and iii) setting financial incentives and regulation so that private investment and business activity are aligned with sustainable development, while supporting interoperability across jurisdictions. 

Guiding Questions 

- Which actions in the Sevilla Commitment are of highest priority so that private business and finance – at national and global level – can be unlocked at scale to support sustainable development, particularly in developing countries? 

- What policy actions can strengthen enabling environments to unlock greater private investment in the SDGs and provide incentives to the private sector on sustainable development objectives? 

- Which mechanisms can effectively crowd-in private resources for investment in sustainable development, reduce risks of investment in sectors and countries that need it the most and leverage limited public resources?

• General debate: Statements by Heads of State or Government, ministers and heads of delegation

Co-Chairs: 

• H.E. Ms. Nadia Fettah Alami Minister of Economy and Finance, Morocco 

• H.E. Ms. Melita Gabrič, Deputy Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Minister for Development, Slovenia 

Keynote: Deputy Prime Minister, Azerbaijan (tbc) 

Moderator: Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UNCTAD 

Panelists: 

• H.E. Mr. Shane Reti, Minister for Science and Innovation, Minister for Pacific Peoples, Minister for Statistics and Universities, New Zealand 

• H.E. Mr. Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabè Abroad, Burkina Faso 

• H.E. Mr. Ville Tavio, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Finland (tbc) 

• H.E. Mr. Neal Rijkenberg, Minister of Finance, Eswatini 

Discussants: 

• Mr. Muhammad Al Jasser, President, Islamic Development Bank (tbc) 

• Mr. Mariano Jabonero, Secretary General of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) (tbc)

Background 

International trade is an engine for inclusive growth and poverty eradication and contributes to the promotion of sustainable development. Yet, the multilateral trading system is increasingly under threat. Trade restrictions, including tariffs inconsistent with WTO rules, principles and commitments, are on the rise globally amidst rising trade tensions and stalling multilateral negotiations. At the same time many developing countries with limited productive capacities and trade infrastructure continue to experience challenges in integrating into regional and global value chains and generating higher-value addition in commodities and critical minerals. 

Over the last decades, the world has seen unprecedented progress in science, technology and innovation (STI). While technology holds promises in advancing sustainable development and resilience, enhancing productivity, creating new industries and business models and contributing to poverty eradication, it can also have unintended economic, environmental and social impacts. Moreover, developing countries’ ability to leverage its full potential remains constrained. Deepening gaps in innovation and access to technology and inadequate access to digital infrastructure, data and digital public goods have resulted in persistent digital divides between and within countries. 

The Compromiso de Sevilla outlines commitments to uphold the multilateral trading system and harnessing the potential of STI. On international trade, it reaffirms the principles of the multilateral trading system and lays out specific actions to improve capacities to trade and increase local value addition for commodities and critical minerals, with a focus on the furthest behind. The Sevilla outcome also puts forward measures at the national and international levels to close digital divides and leverage scientific and technological advances. 

Guiding Questions 

- What actions and commitments related to trade and STI in the Sevilla outcome are of highest priority from your perspective, and how will you advance their implementation?

- How do you plan to build on the outcome document in Sevilla to support developing countries’ integration in regional and global value chains and local value addition of critical minerals and commodities?

- How can commitments in the Sevilla outcome document help closing digital divides within and between countries?

• General debate: Statements by Heads of State or Government, ministers and heads of delegation

Co-Chairs: 

• H.E. Mr. Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Spain 

• Co-Chair (tbc) 

Keynote: 

• H.E. Mr. Faure Gnassingbe, President of the Council of Ministers, Togo 

Moderator: 

• Mr. Sergio Díaz-Granados Guida, President, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) (tbc) 

Panelists: 

• H.E. Mr. Nogui Acosta Jaén, Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance, Costa Rica 

• H.E. Mr. Mthuli Ncube- Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Zimbabwe 

• H.E. Mr. Facinet Sylla, Minister of Budget, Republic of Guinea 

• H.E. Mr. Hervé Ndoba, Minster of Finance and Budget, Central African Republic Central African Republic 

Discussants: 

• Mr. Carlo Monticelli, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (tbc) 

• Mr. José Viñals, GISD Alliance Co-Chair and Senior Advisor to the Board, Standard Chartered

Background 

Despite efforts in recent years, the gap between development goals and available financing has widened significantly. The global economic outlook remains fragile, marked by high levels of uncertainty, heightened geopolitical and trade tensions, persisting inflationary pressures. 

To strengthen governments’ ability to respond to shocks and sustain essential development investments, FFD4 has an explicit mandate “to support reform of the international financial architecture” (IFA). As emphasized in the Compromiso de Sevilla, three interrelated areas of action stand out. First, the outcome document calls for strengthening global economic governance - by enhancing the voice and representation of developing countries in international financial institutions, ensuring they can participate more meaningfully in decision-making processes and crisis response mechanisms. Second, FFD4 supports strengthening the global financial safety net (GFSN) to address persistent gaps and uneven coverage. The document supports the role of the IMF at the center of the GFSN through calls for governance reforms, easier access to precautionary instruments, lower lending costs, and better use of Special Drawing Rights. It also aims to enhance the complementarity of the layers of the GFSN and emphasizes the need to strengthen existing and new regional financial arrangements and mechanisms - particularly in Africa. Third, the document also addresses IFA features that can, even unintendedly, impede the flow of crucial capital flows to developing countries, such as credit ratings and engagement with credit rating agencies, potential regulatory barriers in international financial standards, and frictions in cross border payments. 

Guiding Questions 

1) How do you intend to take forward key actions of the Sevilla outcome? 

2) How can the international financial architecture be reformed to strengthen representation and voice for developing countries - beyond voting rights realignments alone? 

3) How can the IMF play a more effective role in the global financial safety net? More specifically on SDRs, what should be the main components of the new ‘playbook’, which would facilitate more timely decisions on issuance and rechannelling of SDRs? 

4) How should the international financial architecture evolve to better support long term investment and sustainable development, including through prudential regulation and engagement with credit rating agencies that countries have committed to in the Sevilla outcome?