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Trade, tax, transparency on June G8 meet agenda - UK

by Reuters
Wednesday, 2 January 2013 01:51 GMT

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague (L) and US Secretary of State John Kerry attend the first session of the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting at Lancaster House in central London April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Peter Macdiarmid/Pool

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LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Trade, tax compliance and promoting greater transparency will be the main focus of the next meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight major economies in June, Britain said on Wednesday as it assumed the group's rotating presidency.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the group's seven other member nations - the United States, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Canada and Germany - would join Britain in trying to "fire up economies and drive prosperity".

"At the heart of my agenda for the Summit are three issues - advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency," Cameron said in a letter to other G8 leaders.

The next G8 meeting is expected to be held in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland.

On trade, Cameron said deals between the European Union and Canada, Japan and the United States was on the table, and efforts are also expected to be made to close international tax loopholes and strengthen global tax standards.

Cameron also hopes to boost transparency and accountability of aid spending.

The British prime minister said the G8 economies together account for around half of the world's economic output and so should be able to achieve ambitious goals.

However, experts question the group's continuing relevancy given it does not include rising powers China, Brazil or India.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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