Thiruvananthapuram: In keeping with the spirit of the “Year of Giving”, the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has gifted to the people of Kerala a personally selected assortment of high-quality dates.
The dates – both the national fruit of the UAE and an integral symbol of Emirati heritage and identity – were presented by UAE Consul General in Thiruvananthapuram Jamal Husein Rahma Al Zaabi to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his office here last evening.
The dates were distributed to a group of 30 differently-abled children and orphans at the function.
The Consul-General said the dates were entrusted to him so as to ensure their effective distribution to those who would benefit most from the wholesome and nutritious fruit.
He also observed that the function was an occasion to mark the flowering of the long-standing bilateral relationship and the historic people-to-people links between the UAE and Kerala.
The first-of-its-kind function was held at the initiative of the Consul General with the co-operation and support of the Emirates Red Crescent Society, volunteer humanitarian organisation, a volunteer humanitarian organisation, a release said.
State Chief Secretary Nalini Netto and a number of high-level consular officials and dignitaries were also present during the function.
In December, 2016, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had declared 2017 as the ‘Year of Giving’, the release added.
PTI