Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged the leaders of the world's top economies to lower trade barriers and address infrastructure gaps in order to stimulate anaemic world growth.

Speaking at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit on Saturday, he noted that both trade and infrastructure are key to improving the global economy, but that there have been recent "worrying" trends.

Trade has become more restrictive and its progress has slowed significantly in recent years to lag the pace of economic growth, PM Lee observed at a working dinner for G-20 leaders.

In the last two years, world trade grew an average of 2.2 per cent, while the global economy expanded an average of 3.4 per cent, according to data from the World Trade Organisation and International Monetary Fund.
(The Straits Times)