The General Secretariat of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation won the 12^th Arab Award for Social Responsibility at the 12^th Session of the 2019 in the category of Corporate and International Cooperation. The award was honored during a ceremony held by the Arab Network for Corporate Social Responsibility on Wednesday evening, 02 October 2019 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dubai, UAE.

Commenting on the award, Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Secretary General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, said: “We are delighted to receive this high honor from the Arab Network for Social Responsibility, which confirms the prestige of the award as a national institution that translates the vision of the wise leadership of their Highnesses “God keep them safe" in supporting and developing the structure of date palm cultivation and production of dates at the national, regional and international level. This award is the fruit of the project "International Festival of Egyptian dates" organized by the General Secretariat of the Award in the Arab Republic of Egypt for five consecutive years (2015-2019) at the honor of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Follow-up of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, in cooperation with our partners in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation . He stressed that this community partnership and cooperation falls within the framework of the South-South Partnership and Cooperation projects approved by the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in accordance with international best practices.

Dr. Helal Humaid Saed Al Kaabi, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Award, Head of the Financial and Administrative Committee, said that the project is a strategic partnership with a clear vision to support and develop the infrastructure of the date palm sector and the production and processing of dates in the Arab Republic of Egypt under the umbrella of "International Festival". The project includes a number of executive initiatives, including the rehabilitation of the Siwa government date factory in Matrouh governorate for dates and enable farmers to obtain quality certificates and organic farming of dates approved by the European authorities, and rehabilitation of the new Valley Dates complex in the New Valley governorate, and the establishment of refrigerated dates stores in the province of Al Wahat Al Bahriya. The National Strategic Plan for Egyptian Dates and other programs agreed upon were also finalized to achieve the desired goal.

He pointed out that the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation is proud of the achievements of the International Festival of Egyptian Dates and is to be considered  as a success story reflecting a responsible partnership between the UAE represented by Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, and the Arab Republic of Egypt represented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with private companies and civil society, to develop infrastructure for the date palm sector and the manufacture of Egyptian dates. The festival was also sponsored by His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and honored by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and the continuous attention of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.