“International Council for Dates” Kicks off Meetings in Madinah

The International Council for Dates launched its meetings here today with the participation of Ministers of Agriculture; representatives of the date producing and importing countries and organizations; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development and representatives of the private sector.

Minister of Environment, Water andAgriculture Abdurrahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli stressed in his openingspeech the importance of economic, social and environmental development in thepalm and dates sector, pointing out that despite the contribution of thissector to sustainable agricultural and rural development, it is stilltraditional in all its stages, which requires a great effort to transform itinto an advanced sector in which production is linked to manufacturing andmarketing, so that it can compete and achieve better returns.

Al-Fadhli commended the great attention being accorded to the development and sustainability of palm and dates sector by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's government, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.