Kiri

Dear Dace and Indrek, Following our recent fruitful meetings and finalized agreements that should help boosting cooperation between our countries, I would like to discuss with you an initiative of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival (http://www.artsbird.com/en/) to develop a Baltic Focus at this iconic festival of China in 2020. The festival, organized from mid-October to mid-November every year, presents and extensive performing arts programme – symphony orchestras, classical ballet and modern dance companies, opera theatres and musicals. The festival consists also of performing arts fair, destination point for any international performing arts company, planning to work in China, also art exhibitions, forums and themed events. Delegation of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, headed by Catherine J. Wang, President of the Centre for the Festival, visited me in May this year, and offered a larger focus on Lithuania in 2020. We are very much interested in this proposal. During the meeting I have mentioned to the director that Focus on the Baltic States in 2020 would be even more attractive because of our similarities and differences in our region. The festival has should the interest in promoting us as the region, so therefore I would like to discuss this offer with both of you, as it should involve programming and share of costs by all three parties (depending on the programme selection and our ambitions: approx. 200.000 EUR - 400.000 EUR per country). Baltic focus should be connected to our 30th anniversaries of the Restoration of Independence of the Baltic States, and it would be important to highlight this theme in Chinese context. I would appreciate very much your prompt reaction to this Chinese proposal until the end of July, so that we could inform the organizers of the Festival about our intentions. With best wishes, Liana Respectfully, Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson Minister of Culture Phone no. +370 5 2193 400