Under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, "may God protect him", and in confirmation of the depth of the fraternal and historical relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and with the support and guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, "may God protect him", and based on the cooperation protocol signed in the capital, Abu Dhabi, on 02/26/2024, between the Ministry of Agriculture in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (MOA) and the General Secretariat of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, regarding the organization of the Sixth International Festival of Jordanian Dates in Amman during the period 10-12 November 2024, in cooperation with the Jordan Dates Association (JODA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Center for Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), the Arab Center for Agricultural Research in Arid Areas and Dry Lands (ACSAD), and the Union of Agricultural Research Centers in the Middle East and North Africa (AARINENA) International Date Palm Development and Date Production Network in the Middle East and North Africa (IDPGN), the Emirates Palm Tree Friends Society (DPFS), and the International Medjool Network (MIN).
This is after a series of international festivals specialized in dates that the General Secretariat of the Award began organizing in the Arab Republic of Egypt (eight sessions), the Republic of Sudan (four sessions), the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (three sessions), the Mexican Republic (three sessions), and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (one session). These festivals achieved tangible successes that contributed to developing the infrastructure of the palm cultivation and date production sector in these countries, and enhanced the reputation of Arab dates and introduced them at the regional and international levels. The series of Arab dates festivals has also become a landmark and a platform for regional and international coordination and cooperation to develop the date palm sector and its products. The Sixth International Festival of Jordanian Dates in the Jordanian capital, Amman, complements this series, focusing on the uniqueness of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, its distinction and specialization in producing "Medjool" dates.
The organization of the 6th International Festival of Jordanian Dates 2024 comes at a time when the Jordanian date cultivation and production sector, especially "Majhool" dates in the Jordan Valley region, is witnessing a tangible development that is worthy of praise, as the Kingdom's production of "Majhool" dates is estimated at about 12-14% of global production. The festival includes a number of events and activities as follows:
1. Organizing the Jordanian Dates Competition and opening the door to participation for all date palm farmers in Jordan to motivate farmers and compete in eight categories covering all target groups, in addition to honoring pioneers and entities supporting date cultivation and production in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
2. Holding an official opening ceremony for the festival and distributing prizes to the winners of the festival competitions.
3. Organizing an exhibition of the finest date varieties, especially the "Majhool" variety and the rest of the Jordanian date varieties for three days.
4. Hosting a number of international traders and companies importing dates and holding bilateral meetings (B2B) between them and Jordanian date producers with the aim of opening new international markets and increasing Jordanian date exports to global markets.
