Haoliang Xu said that investment in aid, trade, and defense can generate mutually reinforcing benefits, enabling all stakeholders to grow and prosper together.

International development cooperation is critical to build the foundations of peace, said Xu, adding that a majority of the world's poor live in conflict-hit countries.

The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the biggest such talks in a decade, will be held from Monday to Thursday in Seville, Spain, involving at least 50 world leaders.

One of the main topics to be discussed is the reform of the international financial architecture to help poorer countries escape the growing debt burden that is hindering their ability to make progress in health and education.