Paul Kapur, an expert on South Asian security, has been recommended by President Donald Trump for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.
If the Senate confirms Mr. Kapur, he will succeed Donald Lu.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Mr. Lu’s term concluded on January 17, 2025, and the U.S. State Department confirmed his departure in January.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are the countries with which the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs is responsible for U.S. foreign policy and relations.
Indian in origin Mr. Kapur is a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval Postgraduate School.
He was a member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff from 2020 to 2021, where he focused on matters concerning Indo-Pacific strategy, U.S.-India relations, and South and Central Asia.
He is also a co-editor of The Challenges of Nuclear Security: U.S. and Indian Perspectives and the co-author of India, Pakistan and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia.
Mr. Kapur earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago. Kapur also oversees a United States-India Track 1.5 strategic dialogue, in addition to other U.S.-India engagements, for the Department of Defense, as indicated in his biography.
