Washington: Indian origin Paul Kapur, security expert was officially sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on Wednesday.

According to the twitter x of State Department Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said that 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 served as Assistant Secretary from September 2021 through January 2025. Kapur previously served from 2020 to 2021 on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, where he worked on issues related to South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and India-US relations. He has also led the India-US Track 1.5 dialogue and other strategic defence engagements between the two countries.

He is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. In early October, Kapur was confirmed by a Senate vote, along with the new US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.

The bureau plays a crucial role in shaping US policy on security, economic engagement, counterterrorism, and infrastructure development in the broader South and Central Asia region.