The forum is launched at the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) to tackle the entrenched debt crisis in developing countries.
About Sevilla Forum on Debt
- It is led by Spain, supported by the UNCTAD and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
- It will bring together all stakeholders, creditors, borrowers, international financial institutions and academia on debt sustainability, management and innovative solutions.
- Itis one of the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) and part of Sevilla Platform for Action.
- The other three outcomes are Debt Swaps for Development Hub, Debt-for-Development Swap Programme, and Debt “Pause Clause” Alliance.
- This initiative will complement the Sevilla Commitment.
- Sevilla Commitment lays out a path to close the $4 trillion annual SDG financing gap in developing countries.
- It is the first inter-governmentally agreed financing for development framework since 2015.
Debt Crisis
- Global public debt: In 2024, global public debt reached $102 trillion (developing countries burden-US$ 31 trillion)
- Developing countries spend $1.4 trillion on annual debt service.
- Over 3.4 billion people live in nations spending more on debt servicing than on health or education.