Al Dhaid Date Festival was launched this morning by Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) for the second consecutive year, to extend over three days at Al Dhaid Cultural and Sports Club, with the participation of dozens of palm tree owners, farmers, industrialists, families selling their home-made goods, and a number of official entities.

The festival, which has become one of the economic and cultural initiatives on Sharjah’s events map, attracted on the first day thousands of visitors from different cities and emirates who came to enjoy the festival’s outstanding activities and variety competitions. 

In his opening speech HE Abdullah Sultan Al Oweis, Chairman of SCCI, expressed his gratitude to His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, for his boundless support for the festival, which SCCI has taken the initiative to launch since last year and increase its momentum, in line with the wise vision of Sharjah’s Ruler to organize economic and commercial events of added value outside the limits of Sharjah city. 

Al Oweis expressed SCCI’s gratitude for the moral and monetary gift provided by HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahayan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces, for the festival, a gift which has delighted farmers and participants and left a deep impression in their hearts.

Al Oweis said the gift embodies the support provided for such events and care provided for farmers, the deep interest in the palm tree and encouragement for developing national industries based on dates, and he expressed his gratitude for the generous gift that helped to increase participation and the number and value of awards given out at competitions and daily segments and support for date farmers and connoisseurs.

Al Oweis said the gift extends over the lifespan of the federation itself and the continual support from our wise leadership for the development of the agricultural sector in general and date palm farming in particular, motivating farmers to achieve excellence and increasing greenery in the UAE, in line with the journey of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan (bless his soul) who once said “give me agriculture and I guarantee you a civilized society”. This is the approach taken up by all emirates since their founding up till now as they’ve become first in producing the best kinds of palm trees in the world. 

The opening ceremony was  attended by Mohammed Sultan Bin Huwaiden, President of Al Dhaid Municipal Council, Rashid Abdullah Al Muhaian, President of the Elders of the Central Region, HE Dr. Majid Al Qassimi, Director of Animal Health and Development at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment,  Khalifah Saif Al Tunaiji, Vice President of the Municipal Council, members of the board of Sharjah Chamber, and Mohammed Ahmed Amin, Assistant Director General for the Business and Communication Sector at SCCI, Mohammad Musbih Al Tunaiji, General Coordinator of the festival, Khalil Mohammad Al Mansoori, member of the organizing committee and chairman of the financial committee of the festival , and Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Director of the Economic and Marketing Department at SCCI.

Al Oweis said launching the festival aims to instill heritage and culture in the hearts of youth thanks to what Al Dhaid city enjoys of symbolism and geographic location and abundance of palm tree farms, which has driven SCCI, in cooperation with its strategic partners and support from the media to continue to organize this festival, especially after the huge success it made in its first edition.