GENEVA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Sevilla Forum on Debt was launched on Wednesday during the ongoing 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 16) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The forum, a Spanish-led initiative supported by UNCTAD and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), aims to provide an open and inclusive platform for dialogue and action on global debt challenges, UNCTAD said.
It is one of the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, held from June 30 to July 3 in Sevilla, Spain.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the launch that the forum will bring together all partners - developed and developing countries alike - as well as finance ministers and creditors, in a global dialogue on debt.
Guterres reiterated his call for fast, fair, and development-focused debt solutions.
"We are pleased that this initiative is being announced during UNCTAD 16, since it represents a real breakthrough in supporting developing countries to tackle debt challenges," said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.
According to data released by UNCTAD, global public debt reached a record 102 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. Developing countries account for 31 trillion U.S. dollars of this total and paid 921 billion U.S. dollars in interest payments alone last year.
The debt burden is pushing many developing economies into untenable positions, requiring urgent and systemic responses, UNCTAD said. ■
