Moderator

• Tim Strawson
  UNDP, SDG Finance Advisor and INFF Team Lead

Panelists

• Melissa Paulino
  Ministry of Finance and Economy, Dominican Republic, Director of Credit Negotiations

• Jason Middleton
  Ministry of Economic Transformation, Belize, Senior Project Officer, Climate Finance Unit

• Catalina Ortiz
  Ministry of Finance, Chile, Finance and International Affairs Advisor

• Karina Michelle Sánchez
  Ministry of Finance, Honduras, Legal Advisor and Coordinator of International Taxation

Background
In recent years, global public and private debt levels have risen due to interconnected health, climate, geopolitical, and financial crises. Latin America and the Caribbean are no exception: following the pandemic, public debt in the region remains high, limiting fiscal space and constraining social, environmental, and productive investment.

The Seville Commitment, adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), recognizes debt sustainability as a cornerstone of sustainable development. It calls for reforming the international sovereign debt architecture to make it fairer, more transparent, and responsive to the structural vulnerabilities of developing countries. 

It also promotes the use of innovative financial instruments that balance fiscal stability with development and climate goals, including:

• Thematic sovereign bonds (green, social, sustainable) aligned with national priorities and the SDGs;
• Debt-for-nature or debt-for-development swaps, directing savings from debt relief to climate adaptation, conservation, or social inclusion;
• State-contingent clauses, such as “disaster clauses,” that allow temporary suspension of debt service during crises to enhance fiscal resilience.

The region has pioneered reforms such as new-generation collective action clauses, disaster-related payment suspension mechanisms, and debt buybacks for environmental purposes. While challenges remain—particularly the diversity of creditors—these innovations demonstrate Latin America and the Caribbean's capacity to offer creative solutions.

Strengthening and scaling up these tools, alongside solid fiscal frameworks and sustainable financing strategies, is essential to advancing a more equitable, representative, and development-oriented international financial architecture in line with the spirit of the Seville Commitment.

Objectives
• Analyze how innovative financial instruments, including thematic bonds and state-contingent clauses, can support sustainable debt management and the financing of the SDGs.
• Promote dialogue on reforms to the international sovereign debt architecture, in line with the commitments made in Seville.
• Explore mechanisms to align debt sustainability with the principles of equity, resilience, and justice set out in the Seville Commitment, fostering a sustainable recovery that places people and the planet at its center.

Guiding questions
• What role can innovative financing instruments play in promoting a sustainable and resilient recovery amid high debt levels?
• How can the region leverage the reforms initiated under the Seville Commitment to strengthen debt sustainability and mobilize new resources for development?
• What actions and partnerships are needed to ensure that the reform of the international debt architecture —envisioned in the Seville Commitment— translates into more agile, inclusive, and equitable solutions for highly indebted countries?