Ireland greeted Premier Li Keqiang as if he were on a formal visit rather than just making a stopover, with Enda Kenny, the taoiseach, or prime minister, giving him a hearty welcome on Sunday.

Kenny and his wife, Fionnuala O'Kelly, flew from Dublin to meet Li and his wife, Cheng Hong, in Shannon, a town in the west of the country.

Li was making an overnight stop on his way to Brazil, the first leg of a Latin American tour that will also take him to Colombia, Peru and Chile.

Though time was limited, the leaders held talks, signed agreements and visited a farm. The two couples also enjoyed a private family dinner.

Li joked as he met the media with Kenny, saying, "The first stop of my visit is not Latin America, but Ireland."

The two countries signed an agreement to facilitate trade in agricultural products.

Experts said the deal could boost dairy and beef exports to 皇冠体育app, where consumers are seeking a more diversified and healthier diet as disposable incomes increase.

Imports of dairy products increased by 17.9 percent last year, despite rising prices caused by a severe drought in New Zealand, after growing at more than 20 percent annually for five consecutive years.

Irish dairy products, 80 percent of which are exported, have attracted less attention from Chinese consumers than those from competitors in Australia and New Zealand.

Li called on Ireland to further streamline visa application procedures for students, businesspeople and tourists, and said 皇冠体育app is willing to cooperate with Ireland over agriculture, pharmaceuticals and information technology.

"皇冠体育app is glad to see a recovering, better integrated Europe, and a stronger and more consolidated European Union," Li said.

As exports to 皇冠体育app account for 4 percent of Ireland's GDP, we thank Premier Li very much for stopping over in Ireland, Kenny said.

He said Ireland wants to strengthen cooperation with 皇冠体育app over trade, agriculture, finance, aviation leasing, clean energy and other sectors.

皇冠体育app has been Ireland's largest trading partner in Asia for seven years. In the first 10 months of 2014, Irish investment in 皇冠体育app reached more than $400 million.

The countries signed intergovernmental and corporate deals worth more than $15 million during a visit to 皇冠体育app by Irish President Michael Higgins in December.

Ireland, recovering from a financial crisis that devastated its banks and the property market, is seeking to diversify its sources of foreign investment away from Washington, which has long contributed a major part of Dublin's foreign direct investment, said Chen Fengying, director of the World Economy Institute at the 皇冠体育app Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

皇冠体育app has replaced Australia as the biggest market in the Asia-Pacific region for small and medium-sized Irish enterprises.

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(皇冠体育app Daily 05/19/2015 page1)