Bengal Chamber believes Mega Trade Fairs help economic growth and development of a country
Kolkata, Dec 19 (IBNS): The much-awaited annual India International Mega Trade Fair (IIMTF), jointly organized by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (Bengal Chamber) and GS Marketing. is being held at the Science City ground in Kolkata, and will run until Dec 25, 2017.
On the global front, the partner country for this year's fair is Bangladesh while Nepal and Netherlands are the focus countries.
At home, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are the partner states while Karnataka and Tripura are the focus states.
In his opening address,Indrajit Sen, President Designate of Bengal Chamber, said, "Trade fairs like this have great relevance towards "Make in India" movement. The Bengal Chamber recognizes the importance of Trade Fairs towards economic growth and development. These fairs are bests platforms for B2B and B2C connects. It also brings business communities together to share expectations and deliverables."
According to the organisers, the fair has already seen visits by industry heads, high ranking government officials, corporate decision makers, traders, manufacturers and a large number of customers.
The event is not only a meeting ground of diverse industries but also serves as a fertile ground to initiate joint ventures, tie ups and other business viabilities between business visitors and participants and also between fellow participating exhibitors, the organisers said.
The organisers also pointed out that the Fair has seen a steady increase in the number of participating foreign countries; there are 16 countries participating in the IIMTF 2017-- Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Dubai, Netherlands, USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal and of course, India.
Twenty-one states across India are participating this year, including Rajasthan, , Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, J&K, Haryana, Telengana, Arunachal, Kerala, etc.
Many Central government departments, such as Jute Board, textiles and handlooms, are also exhibiting here.
The focus areas in India International Mega Trade Fair largely include Property And Construction, Lifestyle, Tourism, Food, Fitness & Health, Beauty & Cosmetics, Furniture And Interior, IT, Education, Communication, Books & Gifts, Electronics, and Appliances & Electrical.
Amit Mitra, West Bengal's Minister of Finance, Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, MSME & Textiles, Government, in his inaugural address said, the fair is like a United Nations of India with so many participants.
"From our shores, we have closest access to ASEAN countries. I am delighted by Myanmar's participation and urge Vietnam and Laos to join next. We have 1,150 stalls today and this year the footfalls are expected to be nearly 10 lakh. This year we have been joined by China and Netherlands. Business is expected to be 15 per cent more this year.This Trade Fair must target to have 2000 stalls and involve 26 countries within the next few years. Supply chain is what we are looking at," the minister said.
Prakash Shah of G S Marketing Associates; Saiful Islam, First Secretary (Commercial) of Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh, Kolkata; Narayan Sharma, Deputy Consul General of Nepal; Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director, Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts & Chairman, India Expo Mart Ltd; Oo Han from Myanmar and S N Bhattacharya of LICI were also present at the inauguration.
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