Turkish embassy in Zambia launches cuisine week

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Türkiye’s embassy in Zambia inaugurated Turkish Cuisine Week on Tuesday, which is among the top five global cuisine traditions.

Turkish Cuisine Week is a globally celebrated event by Türkiye’s embassies and missions around the world with local partners, presenting varieties of Turkish cuisine.

Turkish cuisine also focuses on the zero-waste concept as Türkiye has implemented zero-waste programs and taken a leading role in making it a global UN initiative.

"Shaped by more than a thousand years of cultures and traditions, social heritage and stories, Turkish cuisine has its distinctive and diverse flavors. This year, we are presenting dishes and delicacies from the city of Hatay in the southeastern region of Türkiye," said Türkiye's Ambassador to Zambia Istem Circiroglu at the launching of an event in the capital, Lusaka.

Circiroglu also used the event to indicate that trade between Zambia and Türkiye has more than doubled from $25 million in 2021 to $52 million in 2022, with more potential for the future.

"So far, 25 agreements and memoranda of understanding have been signed between Türkiye and Zambia. An agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism is one of them, and to date, 190 Zambian students have benefitted from Türkiye scholarships," she added.

Gracing the occasion, Zambia's Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba said the Turkish occasion is important to the tourism calendars of the two nations as it promotes a rich cuisine to the global community and features contributions from prominent experts.

"The presentation of Turkish cuisine tells a lot about the Turkish people, and I encourage all Zambians to sample the various foodstuffs on display. Turkish cuisine brings deep-rooted tradition to the present day," said Sikumba, who was in the company of Commerce Minister Chipoka Mulenga and Transport and Logistics Minister Frank Tayali.

He added that the country's President, Hakainde Hichilema, was in awe of Türkiye’s commemoration of 100 years of existence in 2023, describing the country as an all-weather cooperating partner in several fields, including trade, transport, tourism and education.