On December 9, in the Great Hall of the People, under the witness of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Irish President Higgins, Mme. Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Mr. Charlie Flanagan, Minister of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, signed the “Memorandum of Understanding on a Framework for Jointly Enhancing People-to-People Exchange and Cooperation Between the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland”.

The memorandum is aimed at further deepening mutual understanding and trust between the peoples of China and Ireland, enhancing the traditional friendship, and promoting the two countries’ practical cooperation. The two participants will, within the scope of their respective powers and mandates, make joint efforts to promote cooperation projects between the two countries’ provinces (counties) and cities and the development of friendship cities, strengthen friendly exchanges in the fields of education, science, technology, entrepreneurship, academia, culture, youth visits, etc., and host activities to commemorate important anniversaries of China-Ireland bilateral relations and the two countries’ major events, and historical and cultural days.