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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Sophia Har, Communications Director
sophia@jubileeusa.org / (o) (202) 783-3566 x101 (m) (651) 815-1818

G7 Finance Ministers Focus on Growth in Face of High Debt

WASHINGTON

G7 finance ministers gather in Dresden, Germany, to discuss promoting "sustainable growth" in the face of growing global debt. US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is among the ministers gathering. The meeting takes place amid debt crises in the Eurozone and the developing world. The ministers meet after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported slow economic growth and increased debt burdens during the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings.

"It's impossible to experience sustainable growth, when wealthy and poor countries are struggling with unsustainable debts," stated Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, who is in Dresden for the meetings.

The finance ministers gathered in Dresden include Joe Oliver of Canada, Michel Sapin of France, Wolfgang Schauble of Germany, Pier Carlo Padoan of Italy, Taro Aso of Japan, George Osborne of the United Kingdom and Jacob Lew of the United States. Jubilee USA joined Jubilee Germany in Dresden for several G7 outreach events organized on the growing debt crisis.

"Perhaps the most sustainable solution is the creation of a global bankruptcy process," noted LeCompte, who recently helped create a United Nations roadmap on a bankruptcy process to address debt.

Next week G7 heads of state will gather in Krun, Germany, for the annual G7 Summit.

Jubilee USA Network is an interfaith, non-profit alliance of religious, development and advocacy organizations. We are 75 U.S. institutions and more than 750 faith groups working across the United States and around the globe. We address the structural causes of poverty and inequality in our communities and countries around the world.

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