TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council will visit Washington DC this week at the invitation of the US government. 

Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) will visit the US from Sept. 6-14 to discuss Taiwan Strait issues, it was announced Friday. Chiu is expected to meet with officials from the executive and legislative branches of government as well as members of the overseas Taiwanese community, reported UDN. 

News of the Cabinet-level visit to Washington comes on the heels of reports that security officials from Taiwan and the US had closed-door meetings in Alaska last week. The same week, two US senators representing the Senate Armed Services Committee visited Taipei to discuss defense issues. 

Chiu has also been invited to give a speech at the Heritage Foundation think tank on Sept. 12. The Mainland Affairs Council said that Chiu’s address is titled, “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States.”