Commenting following the end of the G8 Summit, the Rt Revd Alastair Redfern said:
“The Government deserves huge credit for its efforts in using its Presidency of the G8 to prioritise trade, tax and transparency. The Summit outcomes fall short of what many had hoped and campaigned for, but there has been progress nonetheless that needs to be celebrated. The Government’s announcement that all Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are ready to sign the Multilateral Convention on Tax Matters is a significant step forward and will help developing countries access more information and retain more of the money they are owed in order to combat endemic problems to their own development such as hunger and child malnutrition.”
Speaking on the G8’s discussions on Syria the Bishop of Derby said:
“The lack of any political break through at the G8 Summit on resolving the bloody and dehumanising conflict in Syria is a major disappointment given the Foreign Secretary’s earlier description of it as the ‘worst crisis affecting world affairs today.’ If we are to break free from this paralysing and destructive stalemate all countries need to look again at ways in which they can contribute both to the containment and de-escalation of this conflict, as well as the resumption of a diplomatic process that might lay the foundations for the restoration of human dignity in Syria.”