The standard perception of foreign aid is that we simply shovel money oversees in eight-figure chuncks and it disappears into the coffers of corrupt governments, never to be seen again.
In my view, that is overly simplistic.
The government does believe it has a moral duty to assist countries far poorer than us - and in a lot of cases, money is going to people who have literally nothing, and should not seriously be begrudged by individuals on here who have, as a minimum, the means to buy a computer and pay for the electricity to run it.
But the govnment also sees foreign aid as an investment in developing countries who will, in the future, be in a position not only to repay the aid they have received, but also contribut to the benefit of this country in terms of trade in goods and services.
Obviously I don't share His Grace's Christian basis for his views, but i do agree with him, albeit for different reasons.