A new mechanism offering debt-distressed countries a way to coordinate action and amplify their voice in the global financial system, has been launched at the UN’s pivotal sustainable development conference in Sevilla.
The Borrowers’ Forum is being hailed as a milestone in efforts to reform the international debt architecture, supported by the UN and emerging as a key part of the Sevilla Agreement outcome document.
“This is not just talk – this is execution,” said Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr Rania Al-Mashat. “The Borrowers’ Forum is a real plan, driven by countries, to create a shared voice and strategy in confronting debt challenges.”
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said developing nations often face creditors as a united bloc while negotiating alone. “Voice is not just the ability to speak — it’s the power to shape outcomes. Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that pay more in debt service than they do on health or education.”
The forum – one of 11 recommendations by the UN Secretary-General’s Expert Group on Debt – will allow countries to share experiences, receive technical and legal advice, promote responsible lending and borrowing standards, and build collective negotiating strength.
Its launch addresses long-standing calls from the Global South for more inclusive decision-making in a debt system dominated by creditor interests.
‘Silent but urgent’
Zambia’s Foreign Minister, Mulambo Haimbe, told journalists the initiative would foster “long-term partnerships, mutual respect and shared responsibility” and expressed his country’s willingness to host an early meeting.
Spain’s Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo described the current debt crisis as “silent but urgent,” and called the Forum a “Sevilla moment” to match the Paris Club of creditors, created nearly 70 years ago.
UN Special Envoy on financing the 2030 Agenda Mahmoud Mohieldin said the forum was a direct response to a system that has kept debtor countries isolated for too long. “This is about voice, about fairness – and about preventing the next debt crisis before it begins.”
The launch comes at a time of rising debt distress across the developing world.
The agreement – known in Spanish as the Compromiso de Sevilla – adopted by consensus at the conference, includes a cluster of commitments on sovereign debt reform.
Alongside support for borrower-led initiatives, it calls for enhanced debt transparency, improved coordination among creditors, and the exploration of a multilateral legal framework for debt restructuring.
It also endorses country-led debt sustainability strategies, debt payment suspension clauses for climate-vulnerable nations, and greater support for debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps – albeit with stronger safeguards and evidence of impact.
Frustration over ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle debt crisis
Civil society groups on Wednesday sharply criticised the adopted outcome in Sevilla, calling it a missed opportunity to deliver meaningful reform of a global debt system that is crippling many developing nations.
Speaking at a press briefing inside the conference, Jason Braganza of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) said the final outcome document adopted on day one – the Sevilla Agreement – fell far short of what was needed.
“This document did not start with much ambition and still managed to be watered down,” he said. “Nearly half of African countries are facing a debt crisis. Instead of investing in health, education and clean water, they’re paying creditors.”
Mr. Braganza praised the leadership of the African Group and the Alliance of Small Island States, which fought for a UN Framework Convention on sovereign debt.
‘False solutions’
Although that ambition was not fully realised, he welcomed a small breakthrough in the form of a new intergovernmental process that could lay the groundwork for future reform.
Civil society leaders also warned of the dangers of so-called “debt-for-climate swaps”, with Mr. Braganza calling them “false solutions” that fail to provide genuine fiscal space for developing nations.
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Tove Ryding of the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) echoed those concerns, saying: “We are told there’s no money to fight poverty or climate change — but there is. The problem is economic injustice. And the outcome of this conference reflects business as usual.”
She highlighted the progress made on a new UN Tax Convention as proof that determined countries can bring about real change, adding: “If only we had a tax dollar for every time we were told this day would never come.”
Agreement bears fruit for public health
To help close gaps in access to public services and policies, and to address healthcare cuts that could cost thousands of lives, Spain on Wednesday launched the Global Health Action Initiative aimed at revitalising the entire global health ecosystem.
The initiative, which will channel €315 million into the global health system between 2025 and 2027, is supported by leading multilateral health organisations and more than 10 countries.