Mr President of the Conference, Secretary-General Guterres,

Presidents,

Prime Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start with a basic fact: Last year, development aid worldwide stood at just over USD 200 billion. The Sustainable Development Goals annual investment gap is, as Pedro Sánchez said, in the trillions of USD. To close this gap, we need a paradigm shift and innovative financing methods. This is the core of the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ we agreed upon today, reflecting Europes commitment with global partners.

Let me make three key points: First, maximizing public investment. The European Union contributes 42% of global development aid, and we are committed to this. New donors are emerging, so let’s collaborate on joint investment programs leveraging our strengths for greater impact. We recently agreed with India to co-invest in third countries and will extend this to other partners who share our vision.

Second, domestic taxation is crucial. It provides sustainable funding for essential services like healthcare and education, and a fair tax system attracts private investment. We must implement the G20-OECD agreement on international corporate tax rules to enhance revenues in developing economies, ensuring fairness in tax contributions.

Third, we need the private sectors involvement. The private sector is central to Europes Global Gateway investment initiative, which has mobilized nearly EUR 180 billion in transformative projects in partner countries. We aim to exceed our initial target of EUR 300 billion within 7 years. At the Global Gateway Forum in October in Brussels, we will share further advancements.

In conclusion, our message today is clear: Europe is prepared to invest and innovate. In these uncertain times, you can rely on us to champion multilateralism. To my esteemed colleague Ngozi, you have my full support for WTO reform.

Thank you, and I wish us a successful conference.