Described as a manifestation of the country's size, progress and diverse culture, the annual India International Trade Fair will be inaugurated by Vice-President Hamid Ansari at Pragati Maidan in the Capital this coming Friday.

The `show-window' to the country's industrial and technological progress will highlight the achievements of the Indian economy and also provide a unique forum for meetings between business and trade delegations from India and abroad.

Hosted by the India Trade Promotion Organisation, the IITF themes are "infrastructure" and "women's empowerment". Accordingly the Centre and the State governments have come out with pavilions interwoven with theme-related developments of their respective regions. Orissa is participating as a "partner State", while Kerala is the "focus State". Among foreign participants, Pakistan has been chosen as a partner country, while ASEAN has been selected as the focus region.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, ITPO Chairperson and Managing Director Sheela Bhide said the rise of the Indian manufacturing and service sectors in the world economy had attracted considerable attention.

"Therefore, the IITF is playing a crucial role in bringing together government organisations, private sector undertakings, private sector, decision-makers, consultants and top management. This year the two themes have been chosen because of their socio-economic relevance. The themes will be supplemented with special displays that will focus on machinery and equipment, technologies and services in engineering goods," she explained.

The fair has attracted over 7,000 participants from India along with a number of countries including the United States, China, Pakistan, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. Pakistan will display its ubiquitous onyx items, handloom and also sell delicacies from the North Western Frontier.

Entry tickets for the fair will be available at Delhi Metro stations, Mother Dairy outlets, post offices and DTC depots including those at Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad, besides the regular counters at the fair venue.