The First ECO-Silk Road Food Festival will be hosted by Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization on Aug. 31–Sept. 4 in Zanjan.
The festival is expected to attract local, national and international visitors and food fans. It provides a unique opportunity for Silk Road countries and the member states of Economic Cooperation Organization, particularly ECO’s embassies in Tehran, to share their food culture with visitors and display their local dishes, CHTN reported.
The decision to organize the festival was taken during the 25th meeting of the Regional Planning Council on 1-5 March 2015.
Performances of traditional music, local games and exhibitions of handicrafts and tourism will also be organized on the sidelines of the festival.
Last year, ambassadors from Asian and European countries attended the Ninth National Festival of Potage that opened in Zanjan on May 16, 2014. The cultural event paved the way for the upcoming festival that coincides with the 10th National Festival of Potage.
In coordination with the Foreign Ministry, eight ECO member states have so far announced their readiness to participate in the First ECO-Silk Road Food Festival.
ECO is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. By the fall of 1992, ECO expanded to include seven new members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.