Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

On the morning of June 4, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation of the NextGen program from the US Center for a New American Security (CNAS). In addition to thanking the US administration and Congress for their strong support for Taiwan's international participation, the president reiterated that Taiwan will maintain close contact with the US government, and expand mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.

President Tsai stated that the CNAS is one of the US administration's key think tanks based in Washington, DC, and many of the experts on staff are friends of Taiwan. She started by congratulating Ambassador Victoria Nuland for taking over as Chief Executive Officer at the CNAS early this year. The president also said that she's pleased and welcomed Ambassador Nuland for leading a delegation to Taiwan, continuing to promote the bilateral friendship. 

President Tsai pointed out that while heavily involved in national security research, the CNAS has also set up a NextGen program to develop the next generation of national security professionals. The delegation members went through a rigorous selection process to become part of the program. So the president hopes that the visitors will get to know and understand Taiwan, and continue Taiwan-US exchanges into the next generation.

The US is Taiwan's most important strategic and economic partner, President Tsai emphasized, adding that the two countries have been closely cooperating in many areas including security, economics, and culture. And sound Taiwan-US relations are an important cornerstone of prosperity and development in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.

Over the past two years, the president mentioned, Taiwan-US relations have continued to develop in a positive direction, including the US announcement of an arms sales package for Taiwan, the reaffirmation of the US security commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act, and approval of a marketing license for US defense contractors to supply Taiwan's indigenous submarine program. These moves show support for Taiwan through concrete action that safeguards peace in the Taiwan Strait.

President Tsai specially expressed gratitude to the US administration and Congress for their strong support for Taiwan's international participation. She pointed out that Taiwan-US relations enjoy solid bipartisan support and that Taiwan will maintain close contact with the US government, and expand mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. The president also expressed hope that under Ambassador Nuland's leadership, the CNAS will continue to make suggestions about strengthening the Taiwan-US partnership. President Tsai emphasized that the US State Department has mentioned more than once that Taiwan is a vital US partner, a democratic success story, and a force for good in the world.

In closing, the president stated that this is the first visit to Taiwan for Ambassador Nuland and many other guests. So President Tsai believes that this will be a very gratifying experience and hopes that they will share their Taiwan experience with their friends when they get home, and become pillars of Taiwan-US friendship.