Tashkent hosted the 17th festival of cultural traditions and national dishes. The organizer of the event is the Bureau for Servicing the Diplomatic Corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with the SCO Public Diplomacy Center in Uzbekistan.

The festival has been held since 2000.

The role of cooks and culinary specialists is played by employees of embassies and diplomatic missions of various countries in Uzbekistan. Their activities are important in further development of intercultural ties.

This year the festival was held in Tashkent’s Botanical Garden. And this is symbolic, because the event was held under the motto “Let’s Preserve Nature”.

The main objectives of the festival are to familiarize foreign representatives with the reforms being carried out in the country on development and promotion of tourism potential and the world cultural heritage, increasing the image of Uzbekistan in the international arena, organizing leisure activities for employees of diplomatic missions, creating conditions for their informal, friendly communication.

Employees of the diplomatic missions presented the national cuisine with all its features.

In addition, the festival is charitable: the proceeds from the sale of national dishes and other goods will be donated to charity houses.

Following the festival, the jury, which included highly qualified domestic and foreign experts, determined the best. At the same time, tastes and calorie content of dishes, traditions and presentations were taken into account. Prizes were awarded to all participants.

Gayrat Khonnazarov, photo by Farkhod Abdurasulov, UzA