The 53rd Convocation of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) was held on August 8at the Institute’s campus in New Delhi. In a ceremony, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation and Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, awarded degrees tothe graduating students of PhDs, Full Time MBA, Weekend MBA programmes, Executive Post Graduate Diploma in International Business and Certificate Programme in Export Import Management courses. Distinguished members from Board of Management ofIIFT, faculty members of IIFT and other dignitaries were present during the convocation.In his address, Hardeep Singh Purispoke about the growth that the Indian economy has witnessed since the last few decades. Considering the contribution of foreign trade to approximatelyfifty percent in this economic growth of India, he emphasized on the importance of specialised institutes like IIFT. Hardeep Singh Puri appreciated the contribution of IIFT’s research based consultancy and corporate trainings and hoped that it will contribute towards attaining thetarget of India becoming a 5 trillion USD economy in the near future. Congratulating the graduating students, Hardeep Singh Puri exhorted them to be lifelong learners and keep abreast of the latest developments in Foreign Trade.Commerce Secretary and Chairman, IIFT, AnupWadhawan, complimented IIFT’s placements and role of globally placed alumni in taking the Institute to global heights which has only been possible due to its rigorous teaching pedagogy and unique courses including foreign languages. Commerce Secretary further acknowledged the strong role of IIFT towards the support extended in policy making through its newly established Centre of Trade Facilitation and Logistics (CTFL) as well as Centre for WTO Studies, Centre for Research in Trade (CRT), Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) and the Centre for North East Studies (Ce-NEST) at IIFT Kolkata. He also assured continued support of the Government to the Institute for its new campus which is being built at Maidan Garhi in New Delhi.