Sharjah,:

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) ended yesterday, Sunday, 30 July, the events of the seventh edition of the "Al Dhaid Dates Festival," which was hosted at Al Dhaid Expo Centre. In addition to resurrecting the UAE's popular legacy and long-standing traditions, the event was able to solidify its place as a top-notch platform for local promotion and development for palm cultivation and date production industries. Given the success it achieved over the course of four days, the festival had 130 winners and attracted thousands of visitors over four days, an increase of 25% compared to last year's edition.

His Excellency Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a number of members of SCCI Board of Directors, Mohammad Musabah Al Tunaiji, General Coordinator of the Festival, members of the Festival's Organising Committee, and a number of directors, officials, and representatives of the participating government agencies were present at the closing ceremony to witness the crowning of the festival's winners at the two competitions, namely,  General Elite and Al Dhaid Fort Elite Competitions, where hundreds of palm producers and owners engaged in fierce competition.

In addition to organising performances by folklore bands, competitions, and various cultural programmes to introduce palm trees and their various varieties and types, the Khalidiya Suburb Council of the Department of Suburbs and Villages Affairs sponsored and organised the first charity auction as part of the closing ceremony. They also worked in collaboration with the Organising Committee of the Al Dhaid Date Festival.

His Excellency Abdallah Sultan Al Owais emphasised that Al Dhaid Date Festival's seventh edition's extraordinary success underscores the SCCI's long-term strategy for the event, which is exemplified by the significant participation of farmers and owners of palm trees as well as the high level of visitor turnout. Al Owais noted that the festival was a huge success from a strategic standpoint, especially given that it took place during the Year of Sustainability.

The SCCI wanted to use the festival to support the UAE's efforts to develop a productive and sustainable agricultural sector by serving as a global model, encouraging excellence in the field of agricultural sustainability, and inspiring farmers and palm owners to adopt best practises and adhere to modern agricultural practises, and promote a spirit of positive competition, with the aim of developing and diversifying local production in a way that supports the objectives of the National Strategy for Food Security, which aims to make the UAE the best in the world in the global food security index by 2051.

According to Muhammad Musabah Al-Tunaiji, the festival's seventh edition saw a significant improvement in terms of its level of success. This was due to the festival's celebration of a wide range of economic, commercial, and cultural events and activities, which were carried out in a unique heritage setting and where farmers and owners of palm trees engaged in fierce competition to display the most diverse varieties of dates, which boosted the festival's potential to draw a sizable number of visitors, highlighting the desire to keep developing the Al Dhaid Dates Festival's activities in the upcoming years and to keep up the pace of its positive and rapid growth.

The festival, which took place from July 27 to 30, saw the awarding of 130 winners who took part in the main festival competitions with cash awards totaling one million dirhams. The festival also witnessed a wide participation of productive families, the largest in the history of the event, recording a distinguished presence that reflected a diverse spectrum of Emirati heritage and the celebration of the palm tree.

A number of official delegations and representatives of governmental agencies and authorities praised the event and commented on the exceptional engagement. A delegation from the Qassim Dates Festival Committee in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia visited the festival and was informed about the display of the best regional dates as well as dates made by the participants. 

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Photos: During the ceremony
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Ahmad Aldwairi
Misbar Communications
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