Australia's prime minister vowed that world leaders would deliver on an initiative to add $2 trillion to global GDP, promising freer trade and more investment in infrastructure as heads of the 20 largest economies began cementing plans to drag sagging growth out of the doldrums.

Prime minister Tony Abbott, who has repeatedly promised this year's Group of 20 gathering in the Australian city of Brisbane would be more than a talkfest, said the growth plans would add millions of jobs and boost global GDP by 'more than two per cent' above expected levels over the next five years, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

'That is millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in extra production,' Abbott said as he officially opened the two-day G-20 conference. 'Yes, we want freer trade and we will deliver it. Yes, we need more infrastructure and we will build it.'

'This is our message to the world: that governments can deliver, that governments can agree that the world can be better, that there can be higher jobs, higher growth and more jobs,' he added.

G-20 nations, which represent 85 per cent of the global economy, are under pressure to take definitive action at this year's summit, rather than simply producing a set of vague, unmeasurable goals. The International Monetary Fund has warned about a 'new mediocre' for the world economy, putting renewed focus on the G-20's growth initiative.

Each country is expected to present a comprehensive plan at the summit on how they will achieve their contribution towards the $2 trillion goal, but whether the communique that will be issued at the conclusion of the gathering today will reveal any of those details is unclear. World GDP this year is about $77 trillion.

Australian treasurer Joe Hockey said the group's growth strategies include 1,000 measures that will lift infrastructure investment, increase trade and competition, cut red tape and increase employment.

'While we still face economic challenges in many parts of the world, I'm optimistic our 2 per cent commitment will deliver the growth the world needs,' Hockey said.

But rights groups such as The Civil Society 20 group, or C20, want assurances that the poor will benefit the most from the plans, estimating that the additional growth could lift one billion people out of poverty if it was poured into the poorest 20 per cent of G-20 households.

Tax avoidance by big, multinational companies was expected to be high on the agenda, particularly in light of the recent leak of documents suggesting that hundreds of big companies such as Pepsi and IKEA had organised tax-lowering deals with Luxembourg.

The tiny European nation's neighbours reacted angrily to the news, noting that they have had to impose harsh austerity measures on their own citizens to keep government budgets afloat following the global recession.

Outside the convention centre where the summit is taking place, thousands of protesters braved a scorching heat wave and a labyrinth of roadblocks to stage rallies demanding everything from action on climate change to banning Russian President Vladimir Putin from the gathering. – TradeArabia News Service