New Delhi: The government is committed to increasing India’s contribution to global trade in a “very significant” manner, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said today.

He said he was looking forward to the country, which has about 1.7 per cent share in global trade, taking a rightful place in the world community as a significant player.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) and the Integrated Transit Corridor Development Project here, Prabhu said that both imports and exports contribute significantly to improving the country’s GDP.

“When we import something, that also adds to consumption, adds to the capacity of Indian manufacturing to create world- class products. Obviously when we export, it creates new capabilities,” he added.

India is poised to be the third largest economy in the world, Prabhu said, adding that several factors are however need to make that happen.

“One of them obviously is increasing investments, increasing consumption within the country, and also propelling India to a new growth trajectory by making global trade as a driving force of increasing the rate of growth of Indian economy,” he said.

Referring to the IECC, Prabhu said the Pragati Maidan re-development project will be an exhibit of what India is going to be.

“If you look at the kind of facilities that are going to be created, it is truly in the spirit of what modern India should be. This (project) will showcase India’s ability to create world-class infrastructure,” he said.

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India’s capacity to hold international events is “severely handicapped and circumscribed” by the absence of infrastructure to host such events.

Puri said financial assistance amounting to Rs 739 crore, which is 80 per cent of the total cost of the Pragati Maidan re-development, was being contributed from the Urban Development Fund.