Paul Kapur, Donald Trump’s Indian-origin decide for the function of assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, advised the Senate International Relations Committee that he would pursue safety cooperation with Pakistan the place useful to US pursuits. On India, Kapur mentioned US and India share a bunch of widespread pursuits, together with each of their dedication to make sure a free and open Indo-Pacific area, “which isn’t dominated by China”. “If confirmed, I’ll work to additional advance US-India relations and put our partnership on target to comprehend its large promise,” Kapur mentioned. “On Pakistan, if confirmed, I’ll pursue safety cooperation the place useful to US pursuits, whereas looking for alternatives for bilateral collaboration in commerce and funding,” he mentioned. “South Asia not too long ago averted a expensive battle, with the Vice President and Secretary Rubio intensely engaged on the difficulty. If confirmed, I’ll proceed to advertise longstanding US safety pursuits with India and Pakistan via the pursuit of peace and stability, and the battlein opposition to terrorism,” he mentioned on India-Pakistan relations earlier than elaborating on his imaginative and prescient about what he would do with different international locations, diplomatically.
‘I visited India typically throughout my childhood’
Paul Kapur additionally spoke about his Indian origin on the Senate assembly and mentioned he was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mom. “Though I visited India typically throughout my childhood, I grew up in the USA as a totally American child, by no means imagining that my profession would sometime return me to the place the place I used to be born. However I grew to become concerned with finding out the area in graduate faculty and shortly was engaged on it as a scholar and as a authorities official,” he mentioned. Paul Kapur would succeed Donald Lu pending Senate affirmation. He’s a professor within the Division of Nationwide Safety Affairs on the U.S. Naval Postgraduate College and a visiting fellow at Stanford College’s Hoover Establishment. Kapur has additionally been affiliated with Stanford’s Heart for Worldwide Safety and Cooperation and the Observer Analysis Basis in New Delhi. From 2020 to 2021, he served on the U.S. State Division’s Coverage Planning Workers, specializing in South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific technique, and US-India relations.
