PRESS RELEASE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia ___________________________________________________________________________________ MALAYSIA FRUITS FESTIVAL 2016 21 MAY 2016 | 10.00 AM | CARREFOUR, CITY CENTRE MUSCAT, OMAN H.E. Shahril Effendi Abd. Ghany, Ambassador of Malaysia to Oman, launched the maiden Malaysia Fruits Festival 2016 on Saturday, 21 May 2016, at Carrefour, City Centre Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The event was organized by the Malaysia Agriculture Consul Office in Dubai in collaboration with the Embassy of Malaysia in Oman and Carrefour, City Centre Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Present at the launch were Mr. Shahid bin Abu Bakar, Agriculture Consul at the Malaysia Agriculture Consul Office in Dubai, Mr. Elias Michel Yazbeck, Vice President of Marketing and Sourcing of Carrefour, and Mr. Abd. Aziz Sakiman, Malaysia fruit exporter from DRS Trading Sdn. Bhd. Also present were local importers, members of the diplomatic corp and the media. The one-day promotion was a huge success with a large turnout by the local public whom were treated to free sampling of almost 500kg of fruits such as mango, pineapple, jackfruit, rock melon, rose apple, papaya, watermelon and starfruit. A variety of by-products made from Malaysian fruits such as mango cheese tartlets, jackfruit jelly, mixed fruit salads, puddings and papaya pickle were sampled by the public. Mr. Ahmad Ridhauddeen Abdul Morat also demonstrated his fruit carving skills by carving the prominent Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque on a watermelon at the launch. H.E. Ambassador of Malaysia expressed hope that this initiative would translate to an increase in the bilateral trade of the agriculture sector between Malaysia and Oman in the coming years. As of 2015, bilateral trade in agriculture stood at RO26 million worth of export. Mr. Shahid bin Abu Bakar, Malaysia’s Agriculture Consul in Dubai is also optimistic that more varieties of fruits from Malaysia will be made available in Carrefour in the coming weeks. This is made possible with ongoing efforts by the good office of the Agriculture Consul Office in Dubai to match make local Omani importers with Malaysia’s fruits exporters. Embassy of Malaysia Sultanate of Oman 21 May 2016
