After a weekend touring the museums and archaeological highlights of Oaxaca, President McAleese will begin her official state visit to Mexico today with a schedule that includes the overseeing of a new agreement between Ireland and Mexico on matters of education and culture.
The two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on educational co-operation, an initiative that provides funding for an exchange of Irish and Mexican students and university teachers to visit each other's country for a period of study.
One provision of the programme, for example, provides for two Mexican students or teachers to take the annual twoweek summer university course at University College Dublin, and two Irish students or teachers to do the equivalent in Mexico.
In another provision, one Mexican and one Irish postgraduate student will spend an academic year at university in the co-operating country. Each country will provide funding for expenses up to a ceiling of £6,000 in respect of fees and £3,144 for subsistence.
The second memo concerns cultural co-operation. Under this the countries agree to foster reciprocal visits and participation by artistic groups, writers, and directors. They agree to carry out translation and joint publications projects and book fairs. In a provision designed to address the matter of stolen artifacts, the countries agree to prevent the illicit transfer of cultural heritage articles. The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, will sign the document of behalf of the Government.
In the afternoon, the President will receive a courtesy call from a member of the PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party.) In addition to the PRD, she will receive a representative from the PAN (National Action Party) and from the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party,) the dominant force in Mexican politics.
The meeting with the PRD will allow Mrs McAleese the opportunity to meet a party whose membership is among the least religious in Mexico. Only 6.3 percent of the membership described themselves as even moderately Catholic according to a poll taken by the Los Angeles Times.