UN Trade and Development at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4)

 

At the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) called for a new global deal.

One that ends the debt trap, unlocks long-term finance, redefines prosperity beyond GDP, and makes trade work for inclusive growth.

 
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We meet today in the middle of a debt and development crisis.
How we deal with that challenge, how we manage it with vision and innovation, is the central purpose of this conference.
Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Rebeca Grynspan

UNCTAD agenda at FFD4

14:30 - 16:00
FFD4 side event: Reclaiming competitiveness - commodities, trade, and industrialization for sustainable development
Room: Side Event 20, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
14:30 - 16:00
FFD4 side event: Transformative impact and mobilizing partnerships for sustainable trade development in the least developed countries to meet global development aspirations
Room: Side event 3, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
08:30 - 10:00
FFD4 side event: Economic necessity meets political feasibility - practical solutions for the debt morass
Room: Side Event 21, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Mahmoud Mohieldin, Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, United Nations
  • Paolo Gentiloni, Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to Promote Policy Solutions for Resolving the Debt Crisis, United Nations
  • Trevor Manuel, Former Minister of Finance of South Africa
  • Yan Wang, Senior Academic Researcher, Boston University Global Development Policy Centre
08:30 - 10:00
FFD4 side event: South-South data for development - starting a new chapter
Room: Side Event 4, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Cristina Camacho, Minister, Undersecretary of International Cooperation, Government of Ecuador
  • Jesus Enrique Garcia, Minister, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN in New York
  • H.E. Sultan Ahmad Al-Aseeri, Director of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar
  • Daniel Rodriguez, South-South Cooperation Director, Presidential Agency for International Cooperation, Colombia
  • Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD
  • Ines Tofalo, Trust Fund and Project Management Specialist, UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
10:30 - 12:00
FFD4 side event: Illicit financial flows, fiscal space, and fair taxation - advancing Africa-Europe cooperation for a unified measurement and reform agenda
Room: Side Event 5, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO, AUDA-NEPAD
  • Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD
  • Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
  • Birgit Pickel, Director-General for Africa, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany
  • Chenai Mukumba, Executive Director, Tax Justice Network Africa
  • Patrick Ndzana Olomo, Economist, African Union Commission
  • Erica Gerretsen, Director, Human Development, Migration, Governance and Peace, European Commission
  • Friederike Roder, Director Secretariat, Global Solidarity Levies Task Force
  • Giulia Mascagni, Executive Director, International Centre for Tax and Development
  • Logan Wort, Executive Secretary, African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)
10:30 - 12:00
FFD4 special event: Investing in global solidarity - a new vision of development cooperation
Room: Pavilion 2, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
12:30 - 14:00
FFD4 special event: Forging a common agenda to achieve debt sustainability in developing countries
Room: Pavilion 2, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
14:30 - 16:00
FFD4 side event: Enhancing de-risking mechanisms for sustainable investment
Room: Side Event 13, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • María Amparo López Senovilla, Secretary of State for Trade, Spain
  • Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Egypt
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Yuichiro Akita, President, Berne Union
  • Andreas Klasen, Honorary Research Associate, University of Oxford
  • Paul Heaney, Secretary-General, Berne Union
  • Benjamin Mugisha, Chief Underwriting Officer, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATIDI)
  • John W.H. Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce
  • Adama Mariko, Secretary General, Finance in Common
  • Beatriz Reguero, Chief Operating Officer, State account, CESCE
  • Faruq Mohammed, Global Head of Development and Agency Finance, Standard Chartered
  • Chris Mitman, Managing Partner, Acre Impact Capital
  • Şebnem Erol Madan, Director for Economics and Sustainability, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
14:30 - 16:00
FFD4 International Business Forum policy dialogue: Revitalizing trade finance and global supply chains
Room: FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
16:30 - 18:00
FFD4 side event: Investing in the digital future - strategies for financing a sustainable and inclusive connected world
Room: Side event 16, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Boric Tdic, Former President of Serbia and Green Digital Action Ambassador
  • Pasi Hellman, Undersecretary of State for International Development, Government of Finland
  • Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
  • Oscar López, Minister for Digital Transformation, Spain
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  • Mathu Joyini, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations
  • Maikel Wilms, Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
  • Anderson Caputo Silva, Division Chief - Connectivity, Markets and Finance, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
  • Miguel Ángel Panduro, CEO, Hispasat
  • David Kuijper, General Manager, European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI)
  • Oliver Bradley, Senior Managing Director , Macquarie
  • Carla Haddad Mardini, Director, Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division, UNICEF
  • Obaid Amrane, Chair, International Federation of Sovereign Wealth Funds
  • Hun Kim, Director General, Sectors, Themes and Finance Solutions Department, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
  • Mark Bowman, Vice President, Policy and Partnerships, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • Alex Wong, Senior Advisor, Strategic Engagement and Initiatives, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  • José Gilberto Scandiucci Filho, Minister-Counselor, Permanent Representation of Brazil to the United Nations
  • Massimo Meloni, Chief, Policy Research Section, UN Trade and Development
09:00 - 09:45
FFD4 press briefing: Presentation of the World Investment Report 2025 - international investment in the digital economy
Room: Press Centre, Pavillion 3, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
10:30 - 12:00
FFD4 side event: Unlocking the virtuous circle - from financing for development to financing from development
Room: Side Event 6, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization
  • Trevor Manuel, Former Minister of Finance of South Africa
  • María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Former President of the UNGA, 73rd session
  • Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister, Belgium
  • Penelope Hawkins, Officer in Charge, Debt and Development Finance Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Manfred Schepers, CEO and Founder, ILX (the Netherlands)
  • Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP29
  • Jan Fischer, Former Prime Minister of Czechia
  • Igor Lukšic, Former Prime Minister of Montenegro
10:30 - 14:00
FFD4 side event: New approaches for a renewed international cooperation - 'Coalition of the willing on Beyond GDP'
Room: Side Event 19, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
12:20 - 12:50
FFD4 press briefing: Realizing a Borrowers’ Forum
Room: Press Centre, Pavillion 3, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Mahmoud Mohieldin, Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, United Nations
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Egypt
  • Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Government of Spain
  • Mulambo Haimbe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Government of Zambia
  • Paolo Gentiloni, Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to Promote Policy Solutions for Resolving the Debt Crisis, United Nations
14:30 - 16:00
FFD4 side event: Youth moving beyond GDP - intergenerational equity to finance what we value
Room: Side Event 4, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
  • Mónica Colomer de Selva, Ambassador-at-Large for Financing for Development, Kingdom of Spain
  • Özge Aydogan, Director, Beyond Lab, UN Geneva
  • Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs
  • Alexandre Pupo, Secretary-General, Organismo Internacional de Juventud para Iberoamérica
  • Antoine Kallab, Associate Director, Nature Conservation Center at the American University of Beirut
  • Erin Tansey, Director of the Sustainable Inclusive Economies Program, International Development Research Centre
  • Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD
  • Noemí Espinosa Madrid, Secretary General, Association of Caribbean States
  • Amal Ridene, Climate finance and policy specialist
  • Borja Santos Porras, Vice Dean, IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs
  • Marcella Favretto, Chief of the Sustainable Development Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • Bing Lou, Senior Policy Advisor, International Institute for Sustainable Development
  • Laurence Jones-Williams, Executive Director, Rethinking Economics International
08:30 - 10:00
FFD4 side event: Tackling the debt and development crises in Jubilee Year 2025
Room: Side Event 1, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
08:30 - 10:00
FFD4 side event: Beyond extraction - reshaping global finance and raw materials trade for a just transition
Room: Side Event 5, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
10:00 - 13:00
FFD4 multi-stakeholder round table 6: Reforming the international financial architecture and addressing systemic issues
Room: Pavilion 2, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
10:30 - 12:00
FFD4 side event: Financial inclusion for entrepreneurship development - bridging the formal-informal divide
Room: Side Event 11, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
Speakers:
  • Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Akustina Morni, Director of Policy, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)
  • Valérie Schmitt, Deputy Director, Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • Megan O'Neill, Senior Program Manager, UN & International Organizations, Microsoft
  • Nancy Chenard, Secretargy General, Unicongo (Union Patronale et Interprofessionnelles du Congo)
  • Nicholas Kamanzi, CEO and Co-founder, SocialPay
  • Amadou Sako, Adviser, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

Publications

World of debt 2025

A World of Debt 2025

26 Jun 2025

Cover for SDG Pulse 2025

SDG Pulse 2025

25 Jun 2025

Cover for World Investment Report 2025: International investment in the digital economy

World Investment Report 2025: International investment in the digital economy

19 Jun 2025

Cover for Derisking investment for the SDGs: The role of political risk insurance

Derisking investment for the SDGs: The role of political risk insurance

24 Apr 2025

Cover for Global Trade Update (April 2025): Escalating tariffs – the impact on small and vulnerable economies

Global Trade Update (April 2025): Escalating tariffs – the impact on small and vulnerable economies

14 Apr 2025

Cover for Aid at the crossroads: Trends in official development assistance

Aid at the crossroads: Trends in official development assistance

09 Apr 2025

Cover for Sovereign debt vulnerabilities in developing countries

Sovereign debt vulnerabilities in developing countries

28 Mar 2025

Cover for Global Trade Update (March 2025): The role of tariffs in international trade

Global Trade Update (March 2025): The role of tariffs in international trade

14 Mar 2025

Cover for Credit rating agencies, developing countries and bias

Credit rating agencies, developing countries and bias

20 Jan 2025

 

Data

Grapsh showing global public debt in trillions of dollars, by region, 2010–2024

Global public debt hit a record $102 trillion in 2024, striking developing countries hardest

26 Jun 2025

Graph showing developing countries' external debt hit $11.4 trillion in 2023 – 99% of their export earnings

Developing countries’ external debt hits record $11.4 trillion

17 Mar 2025

World of Debt Dashboard

Explore the World of Debt Dashboard: Key insights across 188 countries

04 Sep 2024

Aid shifts from grants to loans, increasing developing country debt burdens

Debt concerns grow as development aid shifts from grants to loans

15 Apr 2024

Graph showing trends for greenfield investments and FDI for international projects

Foreign investment slump threatens global development prospects

19 Jun 2025

Media contacts


For media inquiries and interviews:

Mr. Marcelo Risi, Senior Communications Officer, UN Trade and Development

+41 76 691 18 74, marcelo.risi@un.org

Ms. Catherine Huissoud, UNCTAD Press Officer

+41 79 502 43 11, catherine.huissoud@un.org

News

SG Grynspan speaks at FfD4 in Sevilla, Spain.

07 Jul 2025

What comes next: A push for development-centric finance

26 Jun 2025

Global public debt hit a record $102 trillion in 2024, striking developing countries hardest

26 Jun 2025

Developing countries face record-high public debt burdens. Now is the time for reform

19 Jun 2025

Global foreign investment drops again, with dire consequences for development – UNCTAD chief

19 Jun 2025

Global foreign direct investment falls for the second consecutive year, posing acute challenges to developing countries

19 Mar 2025

Urgent debt reforms needed to prevent ‘defaults on development’

17 Mar 2025

Debt crisis: Developing countries’ external debt hits record $11.4 trillion
More news
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