An official from Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the performances of the Philippines’ premier ballet company, Ballet Philippines (BP), in the UAE and three other countries in the Middle East, were only a prelude to a series of cultural productions from the Southeast Asian nation to the region.

On Tuesday, the China Season of the 2015 China-U.K. Year of Cultural Exchange was launched in London, announcing a series of events to come in the next few months. The events have the goal of exposing U.K. residents to the culture and traditions of China.

The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York is organizing the first ever Festival of the Romanian Language in [the] USA and Canada. Famous artists from Romania have been invited to the three-day event.

Bringing this widely toured show to select countries in the Middle East presents a tapestry of culture and friendship, from which both nations can find commonalities and understanding through dance, according to the embassy.

China’s state-sponsored cultural exports inevitably create controversy in the West. Critics warn that educational institutions receiving financial support from the Chinese authoritarian regime risk ceding control of their curriculum, academic freedom and intellectual integrity.

Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, on Tuesday said Nollywood was a veritable tool for cultural diplomacy and social re-engineering in Nigeria.