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China to be key guest nation of St. Petersburg Int’l Cultural Forum, says culture ministry

The 8th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will be held on November 14-16, its topic will be Cultural Codes and the Globalizing World

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. China will be a key guest nations of the 8th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, Russian Deputy Minister of Culture Pavel Stepanov said on Tuesday.

According to earlier reports, the guest country status will be granted to Germany and China.

"The special status of a guest country has been awarded to China. Moreover, we decided to focus on China as a key nation of the forum," Stepanov said at a meeting of the forum’s steering committee.

At the same time, he stressed that the committee "is not closing the door for Germany and will be glad to welcome guests from that country." "Corresponding invitation have been issued," he added.

A guest nation typically offers its own program for the forum, which features discussion panels and cultural events involving world-level experts and people of culture and arts. Such a program is geared to tell the general public more about its culture.

Apart from that, according to Stepanov, this year’s forum will feature a new status, namely that of special programs of the cultural forum. This year, such programs will be presented by Turkey and the Forum of Slavic Cultures.

The 8th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will be held on November 14 through 16. Its topic will be Cultural Codes and the Globalizing World.

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