Trump admin sending Paul Kapur to Dhaka after election to expand bilateral partnership
Following the 13th parliamentary election, the Trump administration is preparing to advance Dhaka–Washington cooperation with the new government.
As part of this effort, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs S Paul Kapur may visit Dhaka in the first week of March.
Diplomatic sources told Prothom Alo that US ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen raised the issue of Kapur’s planned visit during discussions last Sunday with foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain and foreign secretary Asad Alam Siam. Kapur has expressed interest in visiting Dhaka from 6 to 9 March.
In February last year, US president Donald Trump nominated Indian-origin Paul Kapur for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. The nomination was later approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his appointment was finalised in October.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in June last year, Kapur said that Bangladesh has the second-largest economy in South Asia after India. If confirmed, he pledged to work to strengthen US security, counter China’s influence, and expand trade cooperation with countries in the region.
Like Kapur, ambassador Christensen also referred to China during his own Senate confirmation hearing. Last month, while engaging with several media outlets in Dhaka including Prothom Alo, Christensen commented on the geopolitical competition between the United States and China.
Responding to a question, he said he would clearly convey to the interim government or the newly elected government the risks associated with engagement with China in certain areas.
Diplomatic analysts say that following the passage of the “Think Twice Act” in the US Senate and the announcement of the US National Security Strategy (NSS), Washington’s rivalry with Beijing has become more explicit. Therefore, if Kapur visits Dhaka after the election, he is likely to present the White House, or President Trump’s, position on China quite candidly to the new government.
They note that, just as Trump demonstrated consistency on immigration issues before the US presidential election, including measures such as visa bonds, he is expected to maintain a hardline stance on China as well.
Before assuming responsibility for South and Central Asia, Kapur taught South Asian politics, security, and international relations at the US Naval Postgraduate School.
In 2020–21, he served as a policy planning official at the US State Department, where he worked on South and Central Asia, the Indo-Pacific strategy, and US–India relations.
Prior to that, he taught at Claremont McKenna College and was also a visiting professor at Stanford University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and his PhD from the University of Chicago.