New US Assistant Secretary meets Indian Ambassador in Washington

Washington, Nov 5 India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, hosted Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur at his residence in Washington.

The State Department Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs posted on X on Tuesday, “Thank you @AmbVMKwatra for graciously hosting me at India House last night. Appreciated the opportunity to discuss shared bilateral and regional priorities, including strengthening the U.S.-India relationship. - A/S Paul Kapur.”

On October 22, Kapur, an Indian American security expert, was sworn in as the next Assistant Secretary, marking a key appointment of the Trump administration for the region.

Kapur succeeded Donald Lu, who served as Assistant Secretary from September 2021 through January 2025.

He previously served from 2020 to 2021 on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, where he worked on issues related to South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and India-US relations.

Kapur has also led the India-US Track 1.5 dialogue and other strategic defence engagements between the two countries.

He is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

In early October, Kapur was confirmed by a Senate vote, along with the new US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.

During his Senate confirmation hearing in June, Kapur said his career “has come full circle”, having studied the region academically and now stepping into a leading diplomatic role.

“I can’t avoid the feeling of having come full circle. I was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother. Although I visited India often during my childhood, I grew up in the United States as a thoroughly American kid, never imagining that my career would someday return me to the place where I was born,” he added.

On US ties with India, Kapur stressed that the two countries “share a host of common interests”.

“The United States and India share a host of common interests: ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is not dominated by China; expanding bilateral trade, building our economic relationship so that it is more symmetrical and profitable; facilitating technology sharing and innovation; and ensuring access to the energy necessary to fuel our economies,” he noted.

On Pakistan, he said he would “pursue security cooperation where beneficial to US interests”.

The bureau plays a crucial role in shaping US policy on security, economic engagement, counterterrorism, and infrastructure development in the broader South and Central Asia region.

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