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Growth, austerity parts of eurozone economic package: Obama

Xinhua, May 20, 2012

• Both growth and fiscal consolidation are parts of the broad economic package under discussion at the summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations to contain the eurozone debt crisis, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday.

  G8 leaders pose for a family photo during the G8 summit on May 19, 2012 at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. [Xinhua/AFP]

  G8 leaders will spend a lot of time on economic issues Saturday morning and are committed to boosting growth, stability and fiscal adjustment, Obama said when kicking off talks with other global leaders at Camp David in Maryland.

  "All of us are absolutely committed to making sure that both growth and stability, and fiscal consolidation, are part of an overall package that all of us have to pursue in order to achieve the kind of prosperity for our citizens that we're looking for," Obama stressed.

  The escalating eurozone debt crisis dominated the global attention as leaders from major developed economies tried to bridge their policy divisions at the presidential retreat. The Greek political deadlock and banking sector stress in Spain and Italy weighed on markets in past weeks.

  "We'll also be talking about uncertainty in the energy markets and how we can help to resolve some of those issues," he added.

  After meeting visiting French President Francois Hollande Friday at the White House, Obama said that the G8 summit will discuss a "strong growth agenda" to tackle the ongoing eurozone crisis, noting that "President Hollande and I agreed that this is an issue of extraordinary importance, not only to the people of Europe, but also to the world economy."

  The two-day summit starting Friday gathers leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

  The event will touch upon issues including the eurozone crisis, the Iranian nuclear standoff, Syria, global energy and food security.

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