Nepal has welcomed Compromiso de Sevilla (Seville Commitment), the document endorsed by UN member states on Tuesday at UN Headquarters, as a ‘historic opportunity’ to address critical global financing challenges.

Following months of intense intergovernmental negotiations, the agreement is seen as a renewed framework for financing sustainable development, especially in light of the estimated $4 trillion annual shortfall faced by developing nations, the UN News stated on Wednesday.

Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the UN Lok Bahadur Thapa, who co-facilitated the outcome document alongside Mexico, Zambia, and Norway, praised the consensus.

“It recognises the $4 trillion financing gap and launches an ambitious package of reforms and actions to close this gap with urgency,” said Thapa, highlighting key elements such as increasing tax-to-GDP ratios and improving debt sustainability in developing economies.

“We firmly believe that this outcome will respond to the major challenges we face today and deliver a real boost to sustainable development,” said Thapa.

Despite the United States’ decision to withdraw from the process over disagreements on issues including tax governance and multilateral bank reform, UN officials hailed the document as a demonstration that multilateralism can still deliver results.

“The FFD4 conference presents a rare opportunity to prove that multilateralism can deliver tangible results,” the UN news quoted Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua as saying.

The Sevilla Conference, to be held from June 30 to July 3, will mark the fourth major UN conference on financing for development, following Monterrey (2002), Doha (2008) and Addis Ababa (2015). It is expected to produce concrete commitments and guide international financial cooperation in the lead-up to and beyond the 2030 deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).