MEA Secy Kumaran meets US Assistant Secy for SCA Kapur in Kuala Lumpur; discusses India-US relations

Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], October 27 (ANI): Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), P Kumaran, met the US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian (SCA) affairs, S Paul Kapur, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Monday and held discussions on India-US relations.

During the meeting, Secretary Kumaran congratulated Kapur on his recent appointment to the post and exchanged views on strengthening bilateral ties between India and the US.

The MEA shared details of the meeting on X, stating, "Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran: Glad to meet US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Mr. S. Paul Kapur, in Kuala Lumpur today. Congratulated him on his appointment to the position and exchanged views on India-US relations."

Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran: Glad to meet US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Mr. S. Paul Kapur, in Kuala Lumpur today. Congratulated him on his appointment to the position and exchanged views on India-US relations. pic.twitter.com/d6qVTr53FZ

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 27, 2025

Earlier on Thursday, Kapur was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary at the US State Department Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

The announcement was confirmed in a post by the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) of the US Department of State on X.

"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," the post read.

The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs oversees US foreign policy and relations with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Kapur was a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the US Naval Postgraduate School and a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. From 2020 to 2021, Kapur served on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, working on issues related to South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and US-India relations. Previously, he taught at Claremont McKenna College and served as a visiting professor at Stanford University, according to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

His research and teaching interests include the international security environment in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, nuclear weapons proliferation, deterrence, and Islamist militancy, as per ORF. (ANI)

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