TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US Senator Jim Banks will hold meetings with Taiwanese leaders from Tuesday to Thursday to discuss US-Taiwan relations, the American Institute in Taiwan said Tuesday.

Banks, who has arrived in Taiwan, will discuss key issues such as regional security and trade, per CNA. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he will also meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and other senior officials.

The ministry said Banks has supported US-Taiwan security cooperation and promoted Taiwan’s defense capabilities under the “peace through strength” doctrine. He has also backed resolutions on US-Taiwan double taxation.

Before his 2024 election to the US Senate, Banks was a US representative for four terms and an Indiana state senator. He chaired the Senate Veterans Affairs and Military Committee at the state level and led the House Republican Study Committee during the 117th Congress.

From 2014–2015, during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Banks served in the US Navy and deployed to Afghanistan.