Festival to be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah

 

Sharjah, UAE  – 23 April 2019:  The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has announced the launch of “Sharjah Date Festival” the first of its kind in the emirate, from May 1-4, at the Expo Centre Sharjah.

 

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, the event, which will be organized ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, will feature the participation of 12 countries.

 

The launch of Sharjah Date Festival was announced today’s morning (Monday) at a press conference held by SCCI in the presence of HE Mohamed Ahmed Amin,

Acting Director-General of the SCCI, HE Saif Mohammed Al Midfa’a, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah, and Chef Manal Al Alem, 'Queen of the Arabian Kitchen', as well as media figures among others.

 

Participating countries include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Oman and Tunisia, as well as the UAE. A wide variety of luxurious dates will be showcased to the public by date producers, retailers, distributors and farmers.

 

The festival will be open to public from 2 pm to 10 pm, offering a host of interesting activities including cooking shows made by famous chefs, as well as competitions and workshops among other interesting events.

 

HE Mohamed Ahmed Amin, Acting Director-General of SCCI, said: 'The festival comes as part of SCCI’s efforts to support various economic sectors in the Emirate, including the date industry. Realizing the importance of this industry, the Sharjah chamber of commerce and industry decided to organize a specialized date event, bringing together all concerned bodies, in cooperation with the Expo Centre Sharjah, organizing and supporting bodies”.

 

While speaking at the press conference, the CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah referred to the Emirati dates long history saying: 'The UAE's production of dates are now in more than 45 countries around the world”. 

 

He added that the Expo Centre’s hosting of the event comes to support local products and promote important sectors that add value to Sharjah's vibrant economy.

 

The renowned Chef Manal Al Alem expressed her happiness at being present at the festival, which will offer special cooking shows, explaining how to prepare various dishes in which dates are basic ingredients.

 

Joanne Cook, CEO at Purple Kitchen Events, said: 'The date festival will represent a major platform for countries to showcase their most important date products, as well as for those who want to meet renowned chefs and food experts and get trainings on how to use date products in a large number of healthy meals.