The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced Raymond Greene as the new director of the Taipei office beginning this summer. The Foreign Ministry gave a sincere welcome to him on Wednesday.
The Foreign Ministry stated that Greene is currently serving as U.S. Embassy Tokyo deputy chief of mission and is a seasoned diplomat well-versed in Indo-Pacific affairs. In Washington, Greene served as director for both the Japan and East Asian Economic Affairs National Security Council and the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau Office of Economic Policy. He had additionally been elected as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum’s Economic Committee chair. During his 28 years in the diplomatic service, Greene has had stints in Japan, China, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
The Foreign Ministry pointed out that Greene served as AIT deputy director from 2018 to 2021, and emphasized his role in promoting substantive relations between Taiwan and the United States. During his tenure, the U.S. donated 2.5 million doses of vaccines to Taiwan, the U.S. State Department significantly relaxed rules for exchanges with Taiwan, and the U.S. normalized arms sales to Taiwan. In the way of official agreements, the U.S. restarted the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, launched the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue and U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative, and signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a coast guard working group among several others.
The Foreign Ministry awarded Greene the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy in 2021 in recognition of his significant contribution to Taiwan-U.S. relations. It expressed that it looks forward to continued cooperation to strengthen Taiwan-U.S. relations under the direction of Greene.