H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Chairman of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Board of Trustees, chaired on Tuesday, 16^th of March, 2021, the 14th Annual Award's Board of Trustees’ meeting, in the presence of the Honorable Board members. Where H.E. expressed the great appreciation extended to the Award’s founder and patron, H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, "May God Protect Him”, and the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the continuous support of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, for the continuous support to the date palm cultivation and date production sector.

H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, welcomed H.E. Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Food and Water Security, and H.E. Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as the new members of the Award's Board of Trustees, and Mr. Nasser Mohammed Al Jasmi as a member representing the youth category.

The 14th Annual Award's Board of Trustees meeting, was held at the office of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan, at the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, in Abu Dhabi, where seven of the Board members physically attended while 3 members did attend virtually. The Board members were then briefed on the meeting agenda, where they all commended the efforts of the Award’s General Secretariat and the achievements made during the thirteenth session.

The Board of Trustees then approved the Award’s closing account, of its twelfth session 2020. The Board also agreed on the launching of an integrated study on the Achievements and Impacts of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and agricultural innovation at the local, regional and international levels. H.E. Sheikh Nahayan, also approved a number of activities within the Award's plan of action for the year 2021-2022 inside and outside the country, including the organization of the Seventh International Date Palm Conference, at the capital Abu Dhabi, in March 2022, in addition to the approval of amending the Category of “Distinguished Producers in the Date Palm sector” to the “Best Dates Production, Marketing and Processing” Category.