TEHRAN – The 6th International ECO-Silk Road Food Festival, which was scheduled to be held in the city of Zanjan from May 27 to 29, has been postponed indefinitely in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

The exact dates of the festival, which is one of the highlights of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Calendar of Events 2020, will be announced in the near future, Zanjan provincial tourism chief Amir Arjmand said on Saturday, CHTN reported. 

Organized under the auspices of Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the festival is aimed to introduce healthy traditional foods across the Silk Road region and to publicize unique tourist attractions in the west-central city.

Various workshops and traditional handicrafts exhibits associated with cooking and sightseeing excursions will be amongst side section programs of the ECO-Silk Road food festival.

ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the member states.

In 1992, the organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.

ECO region with an area of more than 8 million square kilometers stretching from central to the south and south-west Asia and a population of around 450 million inhabitants is well-known for its natural beauties, as well as a diversity of its historical-cultural heritage.

ABU/MG