New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS): The 35th edition of India's largest trade fair kicked off on Saturday at the sprawling Pragati Maidan grounds here with President Pranab Mukherjee calling it an opportunity for India to strengthen its bilateral trade relations with the world.

"The India International Trade Fair (IITF) is a brand name enjoying recognition from around the world. This annual celebration of trade is to develop our (India's) bilateral relations with the rest of the world," Mukhejee said in his inaugural address here.

The two-week exposition concludes on November 27, with the first five days reserved exclusively for business visitors.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry Nirmala Sitharaman said the event is of a "global stature" and would see participation by at least 28 countries. This edition of IITF will follow the theme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative "Make in India",

This year, while Afghanistan is the partner country, Bangladesh has been roped in as the focus country. Within India, Goa and Jharkhand are partner states, while Madhya pradesh is the focus state.

Accordiong to the organisers, over 7,000 firms from India and overseas are participating in the fair. The overseas participation is from countries including Egypt, Bhutan, China, Cuba, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Turkey and the UAE.

The last year's event saw a footfall of over 1.4 million, registering a nine percent increase in the number of visitors in 2013. This apart, 63 business delegations from 41 countries, apart from a large number of people from foreign missions in Delhi, also visited the fair.