In their second meeting in four days, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur and India’s Ambassador to the United States Vinay Kwatra met at the State Department headquarters in Washington.
Paul Kapur was quoted by the State Department Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on X on Thursday, saying, “I thank @AmbVMKwatra for visiting me at the @StateDept this morning.” talked about measures to strengthen the U.S.-India relationship and shared interests. eager to carry on the discussion.
The ambassador welcomed Kapur to his Washington home on Monday.
“Delighted to host Assistant Secretary Paul Kapur @State_SCA at India House,” Kwatra said on X. had a lively conversation about enhancing India-US bilateral relations and common priorities.
The day of their second meeting coincides with US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will soon travel to India, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “great man” and his “friend.”
“We talk, and he wants me to go there. He’s a friend of mine. We’ll work that out. I’ll leave.He told reporters at the White House on Thursday, “He’s a great man and I’ll be going.”
Trump responded, “It could be, yeah,” when asked if he will visit India the following year. “I had a great trip there with the Prime Minister,” the US President added, recalling his most recent trip to India in 2020.
An important Trump administration appointment for the area was made on October 22 when Kapur, an Indian American security specialist, took the oath of office as the next Assistant Secretary.
He previously worked on matters pertaining to South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific policy, and India-US ties while serving on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff from 2020 to 2021.
Additionally, Kupur has spearheaded other strategic defense exchanges between the US and India as well as the Track 1.5 dialogue.
Kapur and Sergio Gor, the next US ambassador to India, were confirmed by a Senate vote in early October.
Kapur stated during his Senate confirmation hearing in June that his career “has come full circle,” having studied the area in school and now assuming a prominent diplomatic position.
“I can’t help but feel like I’ve come full circle. My mother is American, and my father is Indian. I was born in New Delhi. I grew up in the United States as a fully American child, even though I traveled to India frequently as a child. I never imagined that my work would eventually take me back to my birthplace,” he continued.
Kapur had emphasized that the US and India “share a host of common interests” in relation to their relationship.
“A free and open Indo-Pacific region that 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 are just a few of the many common interests between the United States and India,” he stated.
He declared that he would “pursue security cooperation where beneficial to US interests” with regard to Pakistan.
In the larger South and Central Asia region, the bureau has a significant influence on US policy regarding infrastructure development, economic involvement, security, and counterterrorism.
Read More
South Korea: Amid a trade battle, Trump and Xi start a high-stakes summit