EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Scottish and Chinese officials say they've signed an agreement to bring two giant pandas to Edinburgh Zoo, the first pandas in the United Kingdom in 17 years.
Officials of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association signed the agreement in London, the BBC reported Monday.
The outcome represents the culmination of five years of political and diplomatic negotiations at the highest level, the BBC said.
Tian Tian and Yangguang, a breeding pair of pandas born in 2003, will be under the custodianship of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
"This is a landmark day for RZSS, Edinburgh Zoo, the U.K. and China," David Windmill, the zoological society's chief executive officer, said.
"Pandas are a Chinese national treasure," Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom, said. "This historical agreement is a gift to the people of the United Kingdom from China."
The United Kingdom's first giant panda was Chi-Chi, who lived at the London Zoo from 1958 until her death in 1972.
