Washington DC - G20 finance ministers concluded two days of meetings in North Carolina, hosted by Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent. 

"The Middle East war, challenges in US bond markets, economic growth, trade and too high sovereign debt were the key issues discussed at the meetings," said Eric LeCompte, a UN finance expert and the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a religious development coalition that monitors G20 meetings. "The G20 agreed that more action on debt and economic growth must take place."

In his opening speech, Bessent focused on pursuing economic growth. A statement released by Treasury or the chair’s statement, was agreed by all G20 members but China and called for faster and more predictable debt relief policies.

“Too many developing countries struggle with high debts and low growth,“ said LeCompte. “There is a growing sense that current debt policies need significant improvement.”

Under its G20 priority on sovereign debt challenges, the US seeks to make sovereign debt restructurings faster, more transparent and more predictable.

“The US government is pressing debt as a key global issue to address," added LeCompte.

Bessent remarked that work on global debt will remain a G20 priority and announced a G20 Technical-Level Study Group to maintain momentum with the presidents and prime ministers of G20 countries when they meet in Miami in December.

“The G20 study group on debt shows the commitment of the US government to improve debt policies,” shared LeCompte.

Read the Chair's Statement on the G20 Second Meeting of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. 

Washington DC – On Monday, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors arrive in Asheville, North Carolina, for two days of meetings. In a briefing for the G20, the IMF noted that the economic shock of the Middle East war continues to damage growth and five-year economic projections remain close to their weakest point since 2009. As chair of this year’s G20 finance track, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an agenda that centers on accelerating economic growth, global imbalances, improving debt restructurings and transparency, and modernizing financial regulation.

“The G20 meets amid growing concerns on the economy and our high food and fuel prices,” said Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA Network. LeCompte has monitored G20 meetings since 2010. “The immediate worries about the US bond market could overtake conversations.”

Global debt levels remain at an all-time high and continue to rise. In a program on debt sustainability G20 finance leaders adopted unanimously last year – the only consensus they reached in 2025 – they agreed that high debt is an obstacle to growth in many developing countries and undermines investments in health, education and infrastructure priorities.

“Dealing with global debt is essential for boosting economic growth for everyone,” added LeCompte.

Earlier in the year the US G20 Presidency led a process to renew guidelines for sovereign debt restructurings and build support for a creditor-debtor agreements blueprint, both seeking to strengthen transparency, monitoring and speed in debt reduction processes.

“The US agenda seeks to address debt vulnerabilities before they turn into crises and expand the number of countries that benefited from debt restructuring tools such as the G20 Common Framework,” shared LeCompte.

Washington DC - Debt vulnerabilities are on the rise and threaten global economic stability, G7 heads of state noted as they recommitted on actions to tackle debt challenges.

"The G7 is calling for faster and more efficient debt relief when most countries are facing crises," noted Eric LeCompte who leads the religious development coalition Jubilee USA Network. "It's critical that the G7 continues to take leadership on global debt challenges."

A declaration on mutually beneficial international partnerships reiterated a pledge to deliver debt relief in a predictable, timely, orderly and coordinated manner under the G20 Common Framework – the main process that is available for the poorest countries to seek debt reduction, agreed by the G20 six years ago. The group agreed to find a common approach to address debt problems of middle-income vulnerable countries that cannot access such process. The group of wealthy countries also noted that other developing countries needed to receive better treatment when dealing with debt challenges.

"When developing countries are facing crises because of debt, high fertilizer prices or war, it has a direct impact on the US and other developed countries," noted LeCompte who serves on United Nation economic expert groups, "We continue to deal with a growing global economic crisis that we feel when we go grocery shopping."

The share of revenue that countries spend on paying the interest of debt rose from 40% to more than 45% in the last two years.

In May, the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent and G7 finance ministers endorsed a blueprint for agreements between official creditors and debtors undergoing restructurings with the hope of quickening debt relief and restructurings.

“There is a desperate need for faster, more predictable and transparent debt restructurings,” stated LeCompte. "The G7 is essentially calling for countries to get debt relief before they enter a crisis." 

France will pass the G7 torch to the United States as the US hosts next year's G7 meetings. The US hosts the G20 this year, also with a focus on debt.

"The US government continues to make debt a central issue for world leaders to tackle," noted LeCompte who works with US government leaders. "The US G20 and US G7 will continue to focus on debt and global debt remains a key concern for Republicans and Democrats in Congress." 

Observers close to this year's G7 Summit report the French government will not release a final communique on the meetings, but rather a series of statements that include issues like debt representing the positions of world leaders.

Read the Jubilee USA press release on G7 Evian Summit Opening.

Read the Leaders' Declaration on Mutually Beneficial International Partnerships.