Skip to main content
Normal View

Official Engagements.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2004

Wednesday, 24 November 2004

Questions (75, 76)

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin

Question:

51 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason it was decided to accede to a request from the representatives of the People’s Republic of China, that no press conference be held, and coverage be confined to photo opportunities during the official visit of Mr. Huang Ju; the way in which he proposes to indicate to the public such matters as have been discussed with the distinguished visitor; if his attention has been drawn to the consequences by way of precedent for such treatment of an official visit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30084/04]

View answer

Eamon Ryan

Question:

78 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his meeting in Dublin with the Chinese Vice-Premier, Huang Ju; the issues discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30270/04]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 78 together.

My Department prepares official visits in close co-operation with representatives of the incoming delegations. Each element of the visit must be acceptable to the parties. As the House will appreciate, it is not possible to oblige anybody to give a press conference if he or she decides not to do so.

I delivered one formal speech on Ireland's bilateral economic relations with China in the course of the visit. The speech followed a lunch meeting with the Vice-Premier on 17 November. This has been made available publicly on my Department's website.

The official talks with the Chinese delegation covered two main areas: bilateral relations and EU-China relations. On our bilateral relations, we discussed the number of high-level visits between our two countries in recent years, human rights issues, the question of Tibet, the rapid expansion in trade since the launch of the Government's Asia strategy, the growth in the number of Chinese students in Ireland and the recent exchange of cultural festivals. The areas of investment, education, culture, health, technology, telecommunications and agriculture were also raised, as were the situations in Burma and North Korea.

In the context of EU-China relations, we reviewed current political relations between the EU and China, including the human rights issue. Vice-Premier Huang Ju paid tribute to Ireland's recent EU Presidency and the progress which had been made in EU-China relations during our Presidency. At his request, I updated the Vice-Premier on the current state-of-play regarding discussions on whether to lift the EU arms embargo on China.

Question No. 52 answered with QuestionNo. 32.
Top
Share