Leaders of the Group of Eight ( G8) take part in a working session of the G8 summit in Camp David, Maryland, on May 19, 2012.? [Xinhua/AFP]

The leaders of the G8 group of the world's most powerful economies say they want debt-stricken Greece to remain in the eurozone.

"We agree on the importance of a strong and cohesive eurozone for global stability and recovery, and we affirm our interest in Greece remaining in the eurozone while respecting its commitments, " the leaders said after discussion at Camp David in Maryland, United States.

In their summit communique, G8 leaders also committed themselves to promoting growth alongside fiscal responsibility. The global economic recovery was showing signs of progress, they said, but significant headwinds persist.

All G8 nations need to take actions to boost confidence and nurture recovery including reforms to boost productivity, growth and demand within a "sustainable, credible and non-inflationary" macroeconomic framework.

"To raise productivity and growth potential in our economies, we support structural reforms, and investments in education and in modern infrastructure, as appropriate. Investment initiatives can be financed using a range of mechanisms, including leveraging the private sector," according to the statement.

Robust international trade, investment and market integration are key drivers of strong sustainable and balanced growth, said the leaders, stressing the importance of open markets and a fair, strong, rules-based trading system.

G8 leaders are divided on whether to continue with austerity or back stimulus measures instead. German Chancellor Angela Merkel favors austerity, while newly elected French President Francois Hollande wants to pursue policies for greater growth, as does U.S. President Barack Obama.

G8 countries are monitoring the global oil markets closely and "stand ready to call upon the International Energy Agency to take appropriate action to ensure that the market is fully and timely supplied," they said.

But the major economies made no explicit mention of tapping their strategic oil reserves, a choice to bring down high oil prices.

The G8 leaders also recognized that the development of a universal access to "environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable" sources of energy is essential to global economic growth and to their overall efforts to address climate change.

The G8 commissioned the World Bank to prepare a report on ways to integrate reduction of near-term climate pollution into their activities.