III. Cultural and Educational Exchanges

China and Ireland signed the Agreement on Cultural Exchanges in 1985,whereas their cultural links are yet to be further strengthened.Inter-government educational exchanges between the two countries by farare limited with one scholarship exchanged each year. Nevertheless, recentyears have seen a growing number of Chinese students going to Ireland forstudy on a self-sponsored basis. By June 2000, the number of Chinese students in Ireland has reached 2,500. China and Ireland initiated the Agreement on Education Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Ireland in October 2000.