Former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage will lead a delegation of think tank academics on a visit to Taiwan later this month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Armitage, who served from 2001 to 2005, will be joined by a group of former US foreign policy and security officials in a visit next week, during which the delegation will meet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and senior officials, said Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs.
Linghu described Armitage as a vital player in forging closer US-Taiwan relations and said he was still an opinion leader in US diplomacy.
Armitage is scheduled to visit Taipei from Sunday through Wednesday next week.
The delegation, most of whom have served in former Republican administrations, include former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Randy Schriver, who is now president and chief executive officer of the Project 2049 Institute, a think tank focused on Asia-Pacific affairs.
Mark Stokes, executive director of the Project 2049 Institute, former assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs Christina Rocca and former deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs John Gastright will be among the delegation members.
They are also expected to meet National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真), Minister of Froreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) and Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), Linghu said.
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