World leaders looking for hope amid recessionary gloom have turned their attention to a long-stalled global trade deal, increasingly seen as a necessary bulwark against the rising threat of protectionism.

Trade negotiators from about 20 countries were meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Saturday to discuss ways to advance the eight-year Doha round of trade talks.

Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen emphasized the importance of free trade to the global economic growth.

"Free trade is a prerequisite for economic growth, and it would be damaging for the world economy if the response to the financial crisis is more protectionism and restricted trade among countries, so I would urge all countries in the world to work in the direction of more free trade."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also warned that unease about the global financial crisis was no reason to recoil from free trade, calling cooperation the only path forward.

France's finance minister Christine Lagarde stressed the challenges of helping atrophying industries without damaging free trade.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said his country would do its part to resolutely fight protectionism.