India-US ties in focus as key officials meet in Kuala Lumpur

Ministry of External Affairs’ Secretary (East) P Kumaran met U.S. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, S Paul Kapur, in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur on Monday as both sides exchanged views on India-US relations. During the meeting, Kumaran congratulated Kapur on his appointment as US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

“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,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X. The Indian-American security expert was officially sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on October 22, marking a key appointment of the Trump administration for the region.

Kapur succeeded Donald Lu, who served as Assistant Secretary from September 2021 through January 2025. He 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.
Kapur, who has also led the India-US Track 1.5 dialogue and other strategic defence engagements between the two countries, is on leave from the United States Naval Postgraduate School, where he was a Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs. Previously, Kapur was a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, and taught at Claremont McKenna College.

The meeting between the two officials came as External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur and appreciated the discussion on bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues.

In a post on his official X account, EAM Jaishankar wrote: “Glad to meet Secretary Rubio this morning in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciated the discussion on our bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues.”
Earlier, Rubio dismissed growing concerns that Washington’s growing strategic ties with Pakistan are meant to sideline India. He noted that the relationship with Islamabad would not undermine the US’ “deep, historic, and important” partnership with New Delhi.

While speaking to reporters en route to Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, Rubio asserted that New Delhi understands the necessity of engaging multiple nations in a mature diplomatic framework.
“I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic, and important,” Rubio told reporters when asked about India’s apprehensions over the recent surge in the US-Pakistan relationship.