New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee Friday inaugurated the 34th edition of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) and said that it provides a vibrant platform for the industry to showcase its products and potential to the international community.

"IITF provides a platform for the businesses to interact with each other and provides the opportunity for traders to interact with their foreign counterparts. The IITF showcases the growing interest in India as a manufacturing and investment destination," the President said in his address while inaugurating the annual event here.

"With recent reforms like opening up of foreign investment in railways and infrastructure, hiking FDI to 49 percent in defence, manufacturing and insurance sectors have made India very attractive destination for investments. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the economy grew at 5.7 percent and there have been an investment of nearly $117 billion through FDI in the last three years in India," he added.

This year's event is expected to attract nearly two million visitors from around the world. It has 6,500 exhibitors from India and abroad and it is one of the biggest industry trade fairs of the world.