Programme de la FFD4

• 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
• Adoption of the Outcome Document (TBC)
• General debate. Click here for the live list of speakers >>
• 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

List of Speakers

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

List of Speakers

Co-Chairs:

• H.E. Ms. Nadia Fettah, Minister of Economy and Finance, Morocco
• H.E. Ms. Melita Gabrič, Deputy Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Minister for Development, Slovenia

Special address by Head of State and Government:

• H.E. Mr. Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government, Spain

Moderator: Mr. Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director, UNOPS

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. Philip Gough, Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs, Brazil
• H.E. Mr. Amb. Enrique Javier Ochoa Martinez, Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico

Discussants:

• Customs Cooperation Council
• CSO representative

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

List of Speakers

Co-Chairs:

• H.E. Mr. Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Spain
• H.E. Mr. Seedy Keita, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Gambia

Keynote:

• H.E. Mr. Hussain Mohamed Latheef, Vice President, Republic of Maldives

Moderator:

• Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UNCTAD

Panelists:

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

Discussants:

• CSO representative
• 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?