Global leaders pledge development push as US shuns UN summit

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Secretary General of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development Li Junhua and President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Bob Rae attend the first plenary session of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, in Seville, Spain, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

SEVILLE (Reuters) -A once-in-a-decade summit kicked off in Seville in scorching temperatures on Monday with global leaders under mounting pressure to reduce poverty, limit climate change and hit other key development goals increasingly at risk.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said the event aimed "to repair and rev up" a world system where "trust is fraying and multilateralism is strained."