Amman (Union)
His Excellency Eng. Khaled Al Hanifat, Minister of Agriculture of Jordan, in the presence of Ahmed Ali Muhammad Al Balushi, UAE Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Dr. Abdel Wahab Zayed, Secretary General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, inaugurated the third international festival for Jordanian dates, organized by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Jordanian Dates Association.
During the opening ceremony, the operetta “Sawari Mansour” was shown, in which the focus was on the efforts of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the first supporter of palm cultivation and the production of dates at the national and Arab levels.
In his speech during the opening ceremony, His Excellency Khaled Al-Hanaifat stressed the strategic importance of this festival as a milestone in palm cultivation, production, industry and marketing of Jordanian dates, especially Medjool dates, as they represent a competitive importance in support of the Jordanian economy. He added that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is fully aware of the importance of cultivating date varieties with high economic returns, such as the Medjool and Barhi varieties, and seeks to encourage non-traditional crops that meet the needs of local and international markets, in accordance with quality and food safety standards, noting that the Medjool variety has reached 650 thousand numbers in the Kingdom. A palm tree, and its production constitutes approximately 14% of the global production of this distinguished variety.
For his part, Ambassador Ahmed Ali Muhammad Al Balushi indicated that the development of date palms in the two brotherly countries occupies a special priority on the map of agricultural and economic development, as the date palm represents in the UAE and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan of increasing economic importance to enhance food security, through the development and exploitation of natural resources and achieving sustainable development, and that this festival is considered one of the success stories and the existing cooperation between the two brotherly countries that the wise leadership seeks. He said that the Third International Festival of Jordanian Dates came to confirm the depth of the historical bilateral relations between the two countries and the close cooperation that links the two peoples and countries under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, and his brother, His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan . He added, “This festival also confirms the prestigious position of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation and its constructive role in developing date palm products and industry, and the necessity of upgrading it at the Arab and international levels.”
.