Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with Dr Shane Reti, New Zealand’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology; Universities; Statistics; and Pacific Peoples, on the sidelines of the Financing for Development conference in Seville, Spain On 1 July 2025.
The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation in key sectors.
“Both discussed cooperation in mutual areas of interest in defence, education, technology and agriculture, and shared values rooted in democracy, rule of law, and robust people-to-people ties,” Sitharaman’s official facebook post read.
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) opened on 1 July, 2025, in Seville with the adoption of the Sevilla Commitment (Compromiso de Sevilla) — an intergovernmentally negotiated outcome that sets the stage for a renewed global framework for financing development. 
The agreement outlines measures to close the $4 trillion funding gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), tackle ongoing debt crises, and reform global financial rules to create a fairer, more transparent system centered on people's needs. The commitment aims to inject new hope for communities worldwide.
Dr Reti is in Spain to represent New Zealand. He departed New Zealand on 27 June and will return on 6 July 2025.
“The Conference is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals at a time when both the Goals and the international development cooperation system face significant challenges,” Dr Reti said.
He also emphasised his role as Minister for Pacific Peoples, noting the importance of working with Pacific partners and other Small Island Developing States to ensure their priorities are reflected in the conference outcomes.
Following his engagements in Spain, Dr Reti will travel to the United Kingdom to further deepen New Zealand’s science, innovation, and technology partnerships.
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