Acting Special Representative for the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships Thomas Debass to Visit Taiwan November 14-18 for Global Entrepreneurship Week

PR-1662E | Date: 11/14/2016

Thomas Debass, Acting Special Representative for the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships, is visiting Taiwan November 14-18, 2016, during Global Entrepreneurship Week and as part of ongoing cooperative efforts between the United States and Taiwan to promote innovation.

While in Taiwan, Mr. Debass will deliver remarks on public-private partnerships and entrepreneurship at Meet Taipei and will hold follow-on discussions to the Digital Economy Forum with public and private stakeholders.  He will also hold discussions with Taiwan officials on various cooperative efforts and promoting digital innovation.  Mr. Debass will travel to Kaohsiung on November 16 to meet with local officials, businesspersons, and academics‎.

Mr. Debass has played a leading role in promoting and institutionalizing the role of public private partnerships as a tool for advancing foreign policy and development objectives.  He regularly gives lectures and talks about the intersection of foreign policy, business, and society.

Prior to joining the State Department, Mr. Debass was Lead Economist/Deputy Director in the Office of Investment Policy with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).  He also served as a senior technical advisor in USAID’s Global Development Alliance (currently named Development Lab) and Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (currently named E3) teams.  Prior to his development finance career, Mr. Debass worked on agricultural research projects in Bangladesh and East Africa.