Vol. 573 No. 3
285 Mr. Morgan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the recent Enterprise Ireland trade mission to China raised the issues of human rights and human security with Chinese officials, as requested by Amnesty International; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24966/03]
The President led her first state visit of Ireland to China from 6 to 16 October 2003. The purpose of state and official visits abroad is to promote Ireland's image in a positive way internationally and to further develop political, economic and cultural links with the countries concerned. It is standard international practice between friendly states to engage in exchanges of visits in order to strengthen relations, to further consolidate ties and to reinforce existing connections.
A state visit is the highest level of official visit between two states, and takes place at the invitation of the Head of State of the host country. The programme for a state visit by a Head of State contains internationally agreed common elements, including a ceremonial welcome, a meeting with the Head of State, a meeting with the Head of Government, state dinner hosted by the Head of State, and a cultural element. Economic elements and a community reception hosted by the resident ambassador are often also included in the programme.
The President was accompanied throughout the state visit to China by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, and a business delegation, organised by Enterprise Ireland, consisting of 150 people from 82 companies and institutions. This was the largest official trade mission of its kind to leave Ireland. The President addressed business breakfasts in both Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a forum of educational leaders. She also officiated at the openings of several new business ventures, and other business functions, and met individually with representatives of a significant number of Chinese companies. The visit was extremely successful in the promotion and strengthening of Irish economic links with China, whose economy has been growing very rapidly in the past decade.
At the political level, the President had meetings with both President Hu and Premier Wen. In the course of these wide-ranging discussions, the President conveyed Ireland's general commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Our more specific concerns in these areas, including individual cases, are the subject of regular and ongoing official meetings and contacts between the two Governments, which are the most appropriate fora for addressing such specific concerns. Ireland, along with our EU partners, also addresses human rights concerns with China through the formal framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, which was established in 1996.
