World leaders confront gap between rich and poor at Financing for Development meeting

Many of the world’s nations are gathering starting Monday in Spain for a high-level conference to tackle the growing gap between rich and poor nations and try to drum up the trillions of dollars needed to close it.

The United States, previously a major contributor, pulled its participation, so finding funding will be tough.

The U.N. and Spain, the conference co-hosts, believe the meeting is an opportunity to reverse the downward spiral, close the staggering $4 trillion annual financing gap to promote development, bring millions of people out of poverty and help achieve the U.N.’s wide-ranging and badly lagging Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

“Seville offers us a great opportunity in this very difficult, uncertain, and complex time,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said. “There aren’t many opportunities, which is why we must seize it to work together, so that when we look back, we are certain that we did what we had to do.”

The four-day Financing for Development meeting in the southern city of Seville is taking place as many countries face escalating debt burdens, declining investments, decreasing international aid and increasing trade barriers.

“Countries need and deserve a system that lowers borrowing costs, enables fair and timely debt restructuring, and prevents debt crisis in the first place,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.