ADNEC Group said on 2 October that Global Food Week 2026 would take place in Abu Dhabi from 6 to 8 October with several new commercial experiences. ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi’s official event listing also confirms those dates and identifies the gathering as an exhibition. ADNEC Group is organising the event in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA). One of the additions, Shop at the Show, was presented as a business-to-consumer platform through which participating producers can sell directly to visitors. Dedicated shopping areas are planned for local and international brands offering food, beverages, honey, dates and agricultural products. The announcement places consumer sales alongside product showcases, buyer-supplier networking and business meetings taking place across the event. That structure is intended to serve both professional participants and visitors interested in discovering products. The organisers did not give a visitor target, expected sales figure, transaction volume or value of signed deals in the announcement. These are programme plans, rather than reported outcomes. The direct-sales area is therefore a new feature of the planned exhibition, but its economic effect will depend on participation, buyer demand and actual transactions during the event. The WAM report described a broader event programme, while ADNEC’s listing independently confirmed the dates and venue context.

India was named Guest of Honour, with a dedicated pavilion planned for Indian companies, brands and exporters. According to the announcement, the pavilion is intended to connect them with UAE government entities, buyers, investors and food-security stakeholders. Its scope includes food and agriculture, exports and market access, retail and logistics, packaging and technology, finance and investment. Business-to-business meetings, brand showcases and investment discussions are planned as part of the programme. This makes the pavilion a proposed channel for commercial contact between the UAE and Indian food and agriculture sectors, not evidence that particular investments or export contracts have already been agreed. The announcement did not name a new joint venture or set out a financial commitment. It described a dedicated space and a schedule of meetings through which businesses and institutions may explore opportunities. The Hosted Buyers Programme is also designed to connect qualified buyers with exhibitors and suppliers in targeted meetings. An Announcements Stage is planned for product launches, partnership signings and updates from participating organisations. These features point to the organisers’ aim of combining exhibition, direct retail and business matching. Any assessment of the results will require post-event information on deals, sales and follow-up partnerships, which was not available in the 2 October announcement.

The sector programme was set to include the Global Food Security Summit, AgriTech Forum, Farmers Majlis, Abu Dhabi Honey Symposium and international cooperation sessions. The Global Food Security Summit was scheduled for 6 and 7 October, with themes including international cooperation, food-cluster excellence, supply-chain integration, smart technology, innovation and participation by younger leaders, women and local producers. Running from 6 to 8 October, the AgriTech Forum was expected to examine sustainable farming, investment models, research and education, artificial-intelligence applications and advanced production systems across the agricultural value chain. The Abu Dhabi Honey Symposium, held with Apimondia, was due to bring together experts to discuss sustainable beekeeping in arid environments, climate adaptation and the contribution of bees and honey to food security and biodiversity; a field day was also planned for 8 October. A World Organisation for Animal Health workshop for the Gulf Cooperation Council and Africa was to address safe trade pathways and cross-border animal-health challenges. The programme also included YalaFast, FAO’s youth leadership initiative, and the FAO Policy Majlis on agrifood transformation in the Near East and North Africa. These descriptions report the announced agenda. They do not establish that sessions, agreements or commercial outcomes had already occurred when the announcement was issued.