The chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Raymond Burghardt, is in Taiwan. He’s here on his final visit before stepping down.
This is Burghardt’s 20th trip to Taiwan since he was named in 2006 to head the top US body which handles exchanges with Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
During his trip, Burghardt is set to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and a number of senior political and business figures before departing on Sept. 15.
Burghardt has held a number of high-ranking diplomatic positions throughout Asia and Latin America. He has served as ambassador to Vietnam and the US consul general in Shanghai. Burghardt was also the director of AIT’s Taipei office from 1999 to 2001.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry says that ties with the United States have been strong in recent years. It said that the two sides have made concrete progress in the areas of security, trade, education, technology, anti-terrorism, the environment and anti-trafficking efforts.