“This issue has caused us a lot of problems to reach an agreement with foreign troupes seeking to participate in this event,” she told the Persian service of MNA on Monday.
Due to the current adverse economic conditions facing the country, many cultural events have been downsized or cancelled by their organizers.
Kazemi said that they are preparing the ground for troupes from other countries to take part in the festival in order to maintain the quality of the event.
Sixteen groups from Italy, Spain, Greece, Norway, Germany, Belgium, China, Kenya, Argentina and several other countries have applied to participate in the festival.
Kazemi said that the festival has not yet reached an agreement with any troupes from these countries.
She asked the foreign applicants to defer to the financial problems facing the organizers.
Eight troupes from Italy, Denmark, French, Germany, France and several other countries gave performances during the previous edition of the festival.
Source: Tehran Times