Jordan, UAE agricultural award panel to organise int’l date festival in Jordan

AMMAN — Minister of Agriculture and Environment Ibrahim Shahahdeh and Secretary General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation panel Abdulwahab Zayed on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding to hold the second international date festival in Jordan in October.

Under the memo signed in Abu Dhabi, the UAE will support organising the festival and help connect entrepreneurial farmers with major international buyers, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The festival will be a good opportunity to market the Jordanian medjool dates. Jordan holds a significant share of its production market internationally, according to Petra.

Shahahdeh and Zayed also discussed the means to benefit from the UAE’s support to establish a centre for packing and storing Jordanian dates and establishing a laboratory to increase palm production and provide proper saplings for farmers.

The minister also received an award plaque in appreciation of the Kingdom’s cooperation with the panel.