Washington DC – New York-based country representatives of the United Nations approved the outcome text of a global conference on finance and development to take place in Sevilla, Spain. The “Compromiso de Sevilla,” (“Sevilla Commitment") now heads for formal adoption at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) between June 30 through July 3rd.

The document, covering finance issues ranging from debt to development aid, estimates that the financing gap to meet development goals amounts to $4 trillion annually.

“This is a big moment for the international community to decide if it will mobilize the funding needed for development,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. LeCompte serves on United Nations debt expert groups. “The priority must be to protect the most vulnerable and address poverty while not increasing debt burdens.”

At plenary presentations, roundtable dialogues and side events in Sevilla, governments and other stakeholders will unveil initiatives to complement and build upon the conference outcome document. Spain, the host country, shared that its call for such initiatives to feature in the “Sevilla Platform for Action” attracted more than 240 proposals.

“The text is only one part of the package in a conference like this,” added LeCompte. “We still have time to make the outcomes of the conference more ambitious."

The United States, which played leading roles and attended the previous three FFD conferences in Monterrey (2002), Doha (2008) and Addis Ababa (2015) did not endorse the text and announced it will not attend the Sevilla gathering.