National strategy drawn up to develop palm date sector: Min.

SIWA, Egypt - 18 November 2017: A national strategy has been drawn up to develop date industry in Egypt, said Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil on Saturday.

The plan has been presented to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who ordered to form a panel to discuss providing a date meal for school students, Kabil said in a speech at the third festival of Egyptian dates in Siwa.

In the speech, delivered by assistant minister Hossam Khattab, Kabil hailed the gathering as a key step to develop the date sector in Egypt.

He asserted keenness on supporting industrial and exporting sectors as part of the ministry's plan to increase the contribution of the industrial sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Thanks to the attention paid by the state to the palm date sector, Egypt ranks first at the international level with a total contribution of 17.7 percent of the world production, said the minister.

The third festival is held under the auspices of President Sisi. It's organized by the Trade and Industry Ministry in cooperation with the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm, the United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The ambassadors of Vietnam, Ukraine and Cambodia were present