Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch arrived in Seville on Sunday to represent King Mohammed VI at the Fourth International Conference on Development Financing. He attended an official dinner hosted by King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia in honor of the participating heads of state and government. The Moroccan delegation includes Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah, Morocco's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Omar Hilale, and the Kingdom's Ambassador to Spain Karima Benyaich. Nearly 70 heads of state and government are expected to attend the event in the Andalusian capital, along with 4,000 representatives from civil society organizations, international financial institutions, and the private sector. According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the goal of the conference is to address the pressing financial needs of developing countries, which now face an annual funding gap estimated at $4 trillion—$1.5 trillion more than a decade ago. Organized under the auspices of the United Nations and running from June 30 to July 3, the conference aims to serve as a catalyst for reforming the international financial system, which Guterres has described as outdated. It also seeks to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to promote a more inclusive global financial architecture. A draft declaration, known as the Seville Commitment, is expected to call for greater representation of Global South countries in international financial institutions, a tripling of development bank lending capacity, and stronger international cooperation to combat tax evasion.
