WASHINGTON — Indian-American security and foreign policy expert Paul Kapur has been sworn in as the new U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, marking a key regional appointment under the Trump administration.
The State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs welcomed him in a post on X, saying, “Welcome to @State_SCA, Assistant Secretary Paul Kapur! This morning Dr. Kapur was officially sworn in as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.”
Kapur succeeds Donald Lu, who held the position from September 2021 through January 2025. His appointment underscores Washington’s continued focus on strengthening strategic, economic, and security ties across South and Central Asia, particularly with India.
Before this role, Kapur served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff from 2020 to 2021, working on Indo-Pacific strategy and India-U.S. relations. He has also led the India-U.S. Track 1.5 dialogue and participated in key defense and strategic initiatives between the two nations. Outside government, Kapur is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
Confirmed by the Senate in early October alongside U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, Kapur reflected on his personal and professional journey during his confirmation hearing. “I can’t avoid the feeling of having come full circle,” he said. “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.”
Emphasizing shared strategic priorities, Kapur noted that India and the United States “share a host of common interests — ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, expanding bilateral trade, advancing technology cooperation, and ensuring access to the energy necessary to fuel our economies.”
On Pakistan, Kapur stated that the U.S. would “pursue security cooperation where beneficial to U.S. interests.”
The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs plays a key role in shaping Washington’s policies on security, counterterrorism, economic engagement, and regional infrastructure development across one of the world’s most strategically vital regions. (Source: IANS)
