Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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650. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he raised the illegal detention of an Irish citizen (details supplied) and the alleged genocide of the Uighur Muslims by the CCP with the Chinese Foreign Minister; and if so, the details of same. [30679/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I had a substantial and productive discussion with my Chinese counterpart, Minister Wang Yi, in Guiyang, China, on Sunday 30 May, covering an extensive agenda of bilateral relations, EU-China relations as well as issues on the agenda of the UN Security Council.

In terms of bilateral issues, while I cannot comment on the details of a consular case, I can confirm that we discussed again the case of the Irish citizen mentioned, as part of our ongoing and extensive efforts to achieve an early resolution of the matter.

On the topic of EU-China relations, both sides expressed a wish to have stronger cooperation, while also recognising that there are several outstanding issues that need to be resolved.

In that discussion, I outlined Ireland and the EU's position on the treatment of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. I emphasised the importance of allowing unrestricted access to the region to independent observers in order to make an objective assessment of the situation, particularly through the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

While there are many areas where Ireland and China do agree, I believe it is important to also have constructive engagement in areas where we do not agree and in order to address areas of concern. Ireland will continue to engage with Chinese authorities both bilaterally and in multilateral fora to raise such issues.