‘Where beneficial to US pursuits’: Indian-origin Paul Kapur, Trump’s nominee for South Asia, on his vision about relationship with Pakistan

Indian-origin Paul Kapur advised Senate what his vision is about US’s future ties with India and Pakistan, if he will get confirmed.

Paul Kapur, Donald Trump’s Indian-origin decide for the function of assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, advised the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he would pursue safety cooperation with Pakistan the place beneficial to US pursuits. On India, Kapur mentioned US and India share a number of frequent pursuits together with each of their dedication to guarantee a free and open Indo-Pacific area, “which is not dominated by China”. “If confirmed, I will work to further advance US-India relations and put our partnership on course to realize its tremendous promise,” Kapur mentioned. “On Pakistan, if confirmed, I will pursue security cooperation where beneficial to US interests, while seeking opportunities for bilateral collaboration in trade and investment,” he mentioned. “South Asia recently avoided a costly conflict, with the Vice President and Secretary Rubio intensely engaged on the issue. If confirmed, I will continue to promote longstanding US security interests with India and Pakistan through the pursuit of peace and stability, and the fightagainst terrorism,” he mentioned on India-Pakistan relations earlier than elaborating on his vision about what he would do with different international locations, diplomatically.

‘I visited India usually 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. “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. But I became interested in studying the region in graduate school and soon was working on it as a scholar and as a government official,” he mentioned. Paul Kapur would succeed Donald Lu pending Senate affirmation. He is a professor within the Department of National Security Affairs on the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Kapur has additionally been affiliated with Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. From 2020 to 2021, he served on the U.S. State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, focusing on South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific technique, and U.S.-India relations.