Egypt Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly praises the efforts of the UAE and the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation

Published Date
November 14, 2021
Published by
ICARDA Communication Team
Courtesy of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm Production and Agricultural Innovation
Courtesy of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm Production and Agricultural Innovation

The Secretary-General of The Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation (KIADPAI), Prof. Abdelouahhab Zaid, accompanied Egypt’s Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly on a visit to the Dates Complex, a 14 Fedan facility in Egypt’s New Valley Governorate, that produces around 5000 tons of dates annually. The New Valley dates complex was recently renovated and further developed through a collaboration between the Khalifa Award and the Egyptian Ministries of Agriculture and Industry. Dr. Madbouly praised KIADPAI and the Government of the UAE for their continued support of the date production sector, a critical economic and cultural activity in a region that is the leading producer of dates globally.

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H.E Madbouly (Right) and Prof. Abdelouahhab (Left), Courtesy of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm Production and Agricultural Innovation

KIADPAI and ICARDA are long-term cooperators and strategic partners. The GCC Secretariat-funded date palm project won last year’s KIADPAI award in the “Pioneering Development and Productive Projects” category. The project focuses on the development of sustainable date palm production systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries of the Arabian Peninsula and helps to develop date palm production systems by utilizing available modern technology.

During his visit to Egypt, Professor Zaid met with Mr. Aly Abousabaa, ICARDA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director of CWANA, in the ICARDA Egypt office to discuss future collaborations. CGIAR has developed 30 new global Initiatives driven by science, innovation, policy change, and technology to transform food systems to meet today’s complex challenges. One of these, the CWANA Initiative, is led by Mr. Aly Abousabaa through CGIAR’s CWANA Office. This, along with an ambitious cooperation program and partnership in date palm research and development with National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) partners, Agricultural Research Institutions (ARIs), and development partners in CWANA were discussed. ICARDA will also play a vital role in the KIADPAI 7th Date Palm and agriculture innovation conference, to be held in March 2022.

Sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, KIADPAI was established in 2007 to recognize scientists, producers, and influential figures and institutions whose work is transforming the date palm production systems in the GCC and beyond. ICARDA is thrilled to see the superb efforts of the Khalifa Award being recognized internationally, and its cooperation with regional actors on date palm strengthened further.