TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen thanked U.S. religious freedom ambassador Sam Brownback for his allyship at a reception at the President’s Office on Monday, CNA reports.

Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback was greeted by Tsai and Vice President Chen Chien-Chien-Ten (陳建仁), who both expressed gratitude for his continued support of Taiwan. As a former member of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, said Tsai, Brownback has always been a good friend of the country.

The ambassador arrived in Taiwan Sunday on a three-day sojourn that will see him deliver a keynote speech at the “Civil Society Dialogue on Securing Religious Freedom in the Indo-Pacific Region,” in addition to meeting a number of government officials and religious leaders.

President Tsai attended the dialogue’s opening ceremony Monday morning, where she met with religious leaders from all corners of the region and the civil society representatives that made the event possible. She welcomed more similar exchanges in the future, and expressed hope for Taiwan to make greater contributions to the fight for global religious freedom.

This week marks Brownback’s first diplomatic visit to Taiwan. His appearance comes during the 40th year of Taiwan-U.S. bilateral relations—a significant anniversary for both countries.

Tsai said in this regard that the ambassador’s visit is proof that a robust relationship, built on respect for common values, exists between Taiwan and the U.S.

The president thanked Brownback for sharing his experience in promoting religious freedom and called for more cooperation and exchange between the two countries to further consolidate their relationship.

A similar appeal was made by representatives of U.S. Congress in a video posted to Facebook on Monday, celebrating 40 years of the Taiwan Relations Act.