Amman, Nov. 10 (Petra) -- The eighth Jordan International Dates Festival 2026 opened Tuesday in Amman under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II.
The Ministry of Agriculture organized the festival with the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, part of the Zayed Humanitarian Legacy Foundation at the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates. It was held in cooperation with the Jordan Dates Association and the Jordan Dates Cooperative.
Agriculture Minister Saeb Khreisat said the festival began in 2018 and has developed institutionally through cooperation with the Khalifa Award, the foundation, the association, the cooperative and the ministry. It has become an annual gathering, he said.
Khreisat said palm has been rooted in this part of the world for thousands of years, and studies confirm date palms existed in Jordan about 3,000 years ago.
He added that the date industry and exports generate more than $60 million. Investment in palm cultivation stands at about $600 million, and the sector has created more than 12,000 jobs, about 5,000 of them for women.
Khreisat said Jordan’s Medjool dates enjoy a high global reputation that surpasses dates grown elsewhere. He attributed it to the Jordan Valley’s climate, atmospheric pressure, oxygen levels, soil and low elevation below sea level.
He said the partnership between the Khalifa Award and the ministry extends the leadership cooperation between King Abdullah and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE.
He said investments worth millions of dinars are going into artificial intelligence and agricultural innovation for palms and Medjool dates. One of the world’s largest facilities for localization, grading, classification and export of dates will open soon, he added.
Jordan Dates Association Chairman Anwar Haddad said Medjool dates top the international dates market with exceptional efficiency and high quality. He said steady growth in the sector has doubled land prices in the Jordan Valley and turned previously unusable land and some saline water into productive palm farms. Per capita consumption is 4 kilograms a year, he said.
Haddad said the sector is moving toward artificial intelligence, modern mechanization and smart irrigation to face water scarcity and climate change. It is also addressing fragmented land holdings through collection and sorting centers.
He said the association amended its bylaws to include all value chain parties, from farmers and service providers to experts and university professors, on a single platform.
He said processing industries are being developed to turn production waste into high-value products such as biochar, date powder, date tea and date-based Nutella, as well as a date version of Umm Ali.
Haddad said the eighth festival includes a specialized exhibition with 14 foreign countries and a scientific symposium focused on artificial intelligence and digitization.
It also includes the international buyer program, which has brought about 80 global buyers to Amman since 2018 to conclude deals. He thanked the partners, led by the ministry, the Khalifa Award and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Secretary-General Abdelouahhab Alboukhari Zaid said Jordan has established a distinguished position for its dates, led by Medjool, which has become a model of quality, economic value and competitiveness.
Zaid said the next phase requires focus on three interlinked priorities: raising the efficiency of natural resource use, improving product quality and added value, and expanding marketing opportunities and access to international markets.
He said the current challenge is no longer limited to increasing production or expanding markets. It is to sustain this success amid climate change, growing pressure on water resources and rising global quality and competitiveness requirements.
UAE Ambassador to Jordan Sultan Al Shamsi said the festival embodies the depth of relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries. The late King Hussein bin Talal and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan laid the foundations, and King Abdullah and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed continue them, he said.
Shamsi said the partnership gained new economic horizons when the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries entered into force in May 2025, enhancing trade and investment opportunities.
He said the palm's status goes beyond its economic and nutritional value, as it is an integral part of Arab identity and civilizational heritage. He added that the UAE has pioneering experience in developing the date palm sector through scientific research, innovation and modern agricultural technologies. He said the UAE is keen to work with Jordan, exchange expertise and integrate efforts to develop the sector and raise quality and competitiveness.
Shamsi said the UAE gives special importance to water security as a pillar of food security and sustainable development. He noted that the UAE, in partnership with Senegal, hosts the United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi from Dec. 2 to 12.
The opening ceremony honored the winners of the eighth Jordanian dates competition and influential figures in the sector. Several agreements were then signed, and the exhibition was officially opened with presentations by exhibiting companies.
Regional and international organizations helped organize and support the festival. They include FAO, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Medjool International Network (MIN), the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture.
//Petra// NQ
