SINGAPORE – Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Friday Asia is leading the world out of a financial rut although the risks remain unless trade relations are accelerated.

Speaking at a seminar of business leaders in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, Lee said Asia is experiencing a “strong rebound” as he looks forward to higher growth next year.

“Today, Singapore and the global economy too, are experiencing a clear but modest recovery. The economies are holding steady, consumer confidence is returning, trade flows have stabilized and industrial production has shown some pick-up,” he said, citing several economies are maintaining strong growth.

Lee said the International Monetary Fund has predicted that Asia, in leading the global recovery, is expected to post a growth of six percent next year. “So we are in the right region in the world but risks still remain,” he said.

He said Asian economies are expected to unwind stimulus measures gradually since the economic recovery is not yet on a firm footing.

“Nevertheless, we expect that the worst is over. In the long term, high growth will continue in Asia because China and India will continue to liberalize, especially China,” he added.

Lee also called on Asia-Pacific nations to pursue free trade in the region, particularly the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP), to help accelerate growth. “We have to work together not to protect our markets, but to take steps towards the vision of a free-trade area of Asia-Pacific,” he said.

The two-day 20th APEC Economic Leaders' Summit opened on Thursday where they are expected to tackle measures to rekindle global economic recovery. The member economies represent about 54 percent of the global gross domestic product.