GIZA, 8th November, 2025 (WAM) -- The Bahariya Oasis in Giza Governorate witnessed today the official opening of the 8th International Egyptian Dates Festival, a unique event bringing together date growers , producers , and exporters to celebrate the date palm and inspire innovation in the industry.
The festival is organised by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation.
The opening ceremony was attended by Major General Engineer Sherif El-Rashidi, Head of the Industrial Sector, on behalf of Lieutenant General Kamel El-Wazir, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Transport of Egypt; Alaa El-Din Farouk Zaki, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; Adel El Naggar, Governor of Giza; Abdul Basit Mohammed Al Marzouqi, Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Head of UAE Mission in Cairo; Dr Abdul Wahab Zayed, Secretary-General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation; and a number of representatives of regional and international organisations and date palm farmers.
Addressing the opening ceremony on behalf of the Minister of Industry and Transport, Major General Engineer Sherif El-Rashidi affirmed that the 8th International Egyptian Dates Festival embodies an advanced model of Arab partnership in supporting agricultural development and related industries, especially the date palm sector, which represents a fundamental pillar in achieving food security and Arab economic integration.
He appreciated the UAE’s continued support for Arab countries in various fields, especially in the field of agriculture and agricultural innovation. He stressed that this fruitful cooperation reflects a shared vision to enhance the added value of Egyptian dates and open new horizons for investment and export, in a way that serves the goals of sustainable economic development for Egypt and the region.
The Giza Governor said that hosting the festival with the support of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation and in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Industry and the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates, marks an important step in the path of promoting rural development and improving the livelihoods of farmers, in addition to raising the quality of Egyptian dates and increasing their competitiveness in global markets.
For his part, Dr Abdul Wahab Zayed said the festival, which was launched in 2015 in Siwa, has become a practical platform to empower Egyptian date farmers, manufacturers and exporters, a space to accelerate the transfer of knowledge and technology and improve quality, and a bridge to international markets.
The secretariat general of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation has been working with its partners in Egypt to develop and improve the palm cultivation and date production sector since 2015, and is determined to deepen this path and expand its impact, so that the festival remains not only the largest annual market for dates and their products, but also a living laboratory for turning solutions into a viable economic, social and environmental reality, he added.
The festival's opening ceremony featured a screening of a documentary about the Bahariya Oasis, along with a performance by a folk arts troupe, and another documentary about the award's achievements during 18 years of positive impact in serving the palm cultivation and date production sector.
The organising committee opened the festival on Saturday with the participation of 120 farmers and exhibitors within 105 pavilions representing eight date-producing countries: the United Arab Emirates, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the United Mexican States, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, in addition to the Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD).