As G7 leaders meet in Brussels, it’s worth reflecting for a moment on the changes that have occurred since last year’s summit. This year, the G8 will not meet against a backdrop of the Black Sea beaches of Sochi and Olympic glory, as planned. In fact, the G8 will not meet at all given international outrage over Russia’s action in Ukraine. Instead, the G7, sans Russia, will meet amid the medieval spires of Brussels.

The leaders’ agenda will doubtless focus on international crises. Tensions remain high in Ukraine following the Russian annexation of Crimea, and escalating terrorism impedes Nigeria’s path to development. In many ways, these crises are the by-products of corruption and the neglect of people’s fundamental rights, all of which have been allowed to fester in the global system.

In Ukraine, it turns out, the former president’s opulent private palace – a symbol of corruption in a poor country – is not, in fact, owned by Viktor Yanukovich at all, but by a UK-based anonymous shell company.

In Nigeria, corruption and a lack of development have created fertile ground for the terrorist group Boko Haram, whose growing menace was demonstrated by its kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in April.

These problems may seem far away from Brussels but some of the solutions are in the G7′s grasp. To combat them, the G7 must take concrete steps to fight corruption and address the development gaps that devastate local communities and provide openings for groups such as Boko Haram.

Leaders should start by building on the commendable transparency commitments made at last year’s Lough Erne summit in Northern Ireland. Since then, some progress has been made to increase the transparency of company ownership. The UK has announced it will implement a public register on company ownership to track the ultimate owners of UK companies, thereby making it more difficult for firms to evade tax or funnel corrupt funds – including those from developing countries – into shell companies.

France has said it would support making public information on the ownership of both companies and trusts, a position that the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved earlier this year. G7 leaders should renew their commitment to finalising progress on shining a light on the beneficial owners of companies and trusts.

In Nigeria, Boko Haram’s rise is, in part, linked to the frustration of ordinary citizens who want to see an improvement in their quality of life. The G7 can take steps to address that frustration, by encouraging investments in agriculture, healthcare and infrastructure. This would allow people in places like northern Nigeria the opportunity to work and grow their way out of poverty and hence build the sort of society where groups like Boko Haram can find no foothold.

At a G8 summit at Gleneagles in Scotland nine years ago, leaders delivered a series of promises – some kept, none forgotten – that set the world on a path to end extreme poverty in our lifetime. This year leaders must make the necessary commitments to ensure that the world puts an end to extreme poverty by 2030, achieves the Millennium Development Goals and successfully launches the next set of development goals for beyond 2015.

In the tradition of summits past, this must be one with clear objectives for the poorest in the world and for all those suffering at the hands of the corrupt, the tyrannical and the terrorists. That is why the G7 needs to fulfil commitments to increase the transparency of the real owners of companies and trusts, reaffirm the importance of global development and the need to create an ambitious, global post-2015 agenda, and commit to investments in the most effective development tools at our disposal – including investments in agriculture and health. It’s particularly important that leaders put their full weight behind the replenishment of the GAVI Alliance next year – a multinational mechanism that provides life-saving access to vaccinations for children in the world’s poorest countries.

Get those jobs done, and this year’s G7 will be remembered for more than its change of venue; it will be remembered because it gave hope and help to those who need them most.

Dr Mo Ibrahim is the founder and chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, board member of The ONE Campaign and a global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished business career.