Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: Grand Iftar that feeds 35,000 people every day
Making of the UAE's largest Iftar meal that feeds 35,000 people daily at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque every Ramadan is not an easy task. An army of chefs and cooking assistants work hard to deliver thousands of Iftar meals to fasting Muslims, inside the tents set up on the sprawling lawns of the iconic mosque.
About 1,000 people work all day at the big Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel's big kitchen to produce the free Iftar meals for the worshippers who break their fast at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during the holy month.
The team consists of 350 chefs, 160 stewards and 450 service staff - including purchasing, store, hygiene and safety - all work hand-in-hand to prepare and put together the Iftar meals.
"To present the meal boxes to the fasting guests every dusk, we have upgraded our services with new ideas such as improving our parcel boxes, change of equipment in the kitchen for more health and safety measurements and efficiency to prepare this big amount of food and to improve on the standards, decoration and accuracy as well," said Karsten Gottschalk, executive chef at the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
At the kitchen, the staff uses 12 tonnes of chicken and six tonnes of lamb are used each day in addition to other products and ingredients such as rice, vegetables, tomatoes and onions, amounting to 35 tonnes.
A meal box also includes an apple, water, dates, laban drink and fruit juices. After the meal parcels are packed, they are taken over to the nearby Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Eleven huge air-conditioned tents have been erected in the mosque gardens - with each accommodating up to 1,500 people.
Volunteers from the UAE Red Crescent also help the group from the UAE Armed Forces in calling on and directing people to take seats well before the canon goes off announcing the ending of the fast and Maghrib prayer.
Tim Kasozi, 32, an Ugandan taxi driver, said last year was his first time he broke fast at the Grand Mosque since moving to the Capital in 2015. "It's such a cool and comfortable place," he said. "I was impressed by the great organisation. I had never had chance to have Iftar with such a big number of people."
Bangladeshi construction worker Omar Abdul Kareem who lives at a labour accommodation in Mussafah said their company bus transports them daily to the big Iftar. "I go to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque every day to end my fast. The food served is really good."
Abdul Kareem added that he's been having the free iftar for the past three years. "It's a good thing for me given my Dh1,000 monthly salary," he said.
Bachelors and families from the city centre and thousands of workers from labour accommodations in Mussafah, Mafraq and Baniyas flock to the Grand Mosque daily using cars and the free shuttle service to and from the mosque to their accommodations.
What is in the mealbox
► Apple
► Water
► Dates
► Laban drink
► Fruit juices
► Rice with meat or chicken
Who prepares the food
A total of 1,000 people work all day at the big Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel's big kitchen to produce the free iftar meals for the worshippers who break their fast at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during the holy month.
The team consists of 350 chefs, 160 stewards and 450 service staff - including purchasing, store, hygiene and safety - all work hand-in-hand to prepare and put together the Iftar meals.
courtesy : khaleejtimes.com
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
