Mike Pompeo to visit Taiwan next week: MOFA

Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) Former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Taiwan next week to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Monday, describing the upcoming trip as an indication of Washington's strong bipartisan support for Taipei.

During his four-day trip from March 2 to 5, Pompeo and his wife will also meet Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), and attend banquets hosted by them, MOFA said in a press release.

On March 4, Pompeo has been invited to give a speech by the government-affiliated Prospect Foundation, the ministry added.

MOFA further said it welcomes the upcoming visit of Pompeo, who it called a long-term friend of the country who promoted closer Taipei-Washington relations during his tenure in the administration of President Donald Trump.

As secretary of state from April 2018 to January 2021, Pompeo facilitated U.S. government approval of numerous arm sales to Taiwan, strengthened bilateral exchanges with the establishments of new platforms and agreements, and ended the State Department's restrictions on how U.S. officials interact with Taiwanese counterparts, MOFA said.

He has also openly supported Taiwan's freedom and democracy even after leaving the post of secretary of state, MOFA added.

Pompeo previously expressed his wish to visit Taiwan during an interview with CNA in March 2021.

When asked whether he plans to visit Taiwan, Pompeo said, "It would be wonderful to get the chance to travel there someday. I would truly enjoy that. It would be a real treat."