Premier Li Keqiang and his wife,Cheng Hong, arrived at Shannon Airport in Ireland on May 17 for a stopover visit before his tour of Brazil.[Photo/Xinhua]

Premier Li Keqiang arrived at Shannon Airport in Ireland on May 17 for a stopover visit before his tour of Brazil.

The Premier and his wife, Cheng Hong, were welcomed at the airport by Irish government representatives, the finance minister and the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland Xu Jianguo.

The Premier praised the in-depth traditional friendship between China and Ireland. Since the two countries established a mutually beneficial strategic partnership in 2012, the bilateral relationship and pragmatic cooperation in various fields has entered a new phase, the Premier said.

"I hope my stopover visit will further enhance pragmatic cooperation, deepen the political mutual trust and cultural and people-to-people exchanges," the Premier said.

He will hold talks with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and exchange views on deepening ties and cooperation between the two countries. They also will hold a joint news conference.

The two sides also will sign cooperation deals on people-to-people exchanges and agriculture.