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By Rachel Cooper

Comprising the G8 are countries which have, historically, been the richest in the world - France, Japan, Russia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the US and the UK.

The UK took up its presidency, which rotates through the G8 members, on 1 January 2013. As president of the group, Britain will host this year's G8 summit.

Last year's summit was held at the American president's country retreat in Camp Davd, Maryland.
 

David Cameron, the prime minister, announced in November that he will host this year's G8 summit at a luxury golfing resort near to the site of one of Northern Ireland's worst bomb attacks.

He will welcome leaders at the Lough Erne hotel and golf resort near Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh.

The summit will take place on June 17-18 just five miles from the site of the Enniskillen bombing, which was one of the worst to hit Northern Ireland when it killed 12 people in 1987.

The prime minister said at the time that he wanted people to see that Northern Ireland was "a great place for business, a great place for investment, a place with an incredibly educated and trained workforce, ready to work for international businesses."

He added that he also wanted the world to see "what a beautiful place Northern Ireland is and Lough Erne".

"I hope I won’t have any trouble keeping President [Barack] Obama off the golf course, because it’s a pretty amazing golf course, but I think it will be a great moment for Northern Ireland," said Mr Cameron.

Setting out his priorities for the presidency, Mr Cameron said that he wanted the G8 to focus on the fight against protectionism in global trade, action against tax avoidance; and promoting greater transparency and openness in governments.

The last time the UK hosted the G8 summit was in 2005, when the meeting was at Gleneagles.

Aside from the summit in June, William Hague, the foreign secretary, will also host his counterparts from the G8 countries in April. They will convene for the G8 foreign ministers’ meeting at Lancaster House in London.

“I look forward to the UK’s G8 Presidency making headway on the serious challenges facing our global community today," said Mr Hague.

"Our G8 priorities of advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency can only take place in an environment of political stability and peaceful international relations," he added.

And in May, Chancellor George Osborne and Sir Mervyn King, Bank of England governor, will host a meeting of G7 finance ministers.

"This group remains an important institution and a key forum in which to grapple with the challenges that face the global economy," said the chancellor./Telegraph