New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) A millet food festival will be held in Mumbai from April 13-19 where chefs from four of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Russia -- will showcase their various cuisines, officials said on Wednesday.

The SCO Millet Food Festival will be organised at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel by the Ministry of Tourism.

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Chefs from the SCO member countries will attend the event and showcase their various cuisines to guests at the hotel, the ministry said in a statement.

Taj Mahal Palace will be hosting the SCO Millet Food Festival to commemorate the International Year of Millets, it said, adding the event will feature a selection of organic meals made with millets that have been hand-picked by "our SCO members' chefs".

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From April 14-19, the festival will be open to the public for lunch and dinner at Shamiana Restaurant, the statement said.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organisation comprising eight member states, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, four observer states and fourteen dialogue partners.

India is hosting presidency of SCO for the year 2023.

The Ministry of Tourism has successfully completed SCO Tourism Mart from February 9-11, SCO Expert Level Tourism Working Group Meeting and SCO Tourism Minister's Meeting in Kashi (Varanasi) from March 13-18.

The SCO countries have a diverse mix of cultures and traditions, which is aptly reflected in their cuisines which will offer unique delights to food lovers, the officials said.

With the aim to create awareness and increase the production and consumption of millets, the United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets. The idea behind is to promote millets as they are "climate resilient" and consuming them can help the world meet at least six UN-mandated sustainable development goals, the statement said.

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