Following Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election, the Trump administration is preparing to advance the Dhaka–Washington partnership with the country’s next government. As part of this effort, S. Paul Kapur, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, may visit Dhaka in the first week of March.
Diplomatic sources told Prothom Alo that U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen raised the issue of Kapur’s planned visit during meetings last Sunday with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam. According to the sources, Kapur has expressed interest in visiting Dhaka between March 6 and March 9.
U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Indian-American scholar Paul Kapur for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in February last year. The nomination was later approved by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Kapur’s appointment was finalized in October.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in June last year, Kapur stated that Bangladesh has the second-largest economy in South Asia after India. If confirmed, he said he would work to expand U.S. cooperation with South Asian countries to strengthen American security interests, counter China’s influence, and expand trade ties in the region.
Like Kapur, Ambassador Brent Christensen also raised the issue of China during his own Senate confirmation hearing. More recently, Christensen commented on U.S.–China geopolitical competition during discussions with several Bangladeshi media outlets, including Prothom Alo, in Dhaka.
Responding to questions, Christensen said he would clearly convey to both the interim government and the newly elected government the risks associated with engagement with China in certain sectors.
According to diplomatic analysts, Washington’s rivalry with Beijing has become increasingly explicit following the passage of the “Think Twice Act” in the U.S. Senate and the release of the U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS). As a result, if Kapur visits Dhaka after the election, he is expected to present the White House and President Trump’s position on China to the new government in a direct and transparent manner.
Analysts also note that ahead of the U.S. presidential election, Trump repeatedly emphasized strict immigration policies, and subsequent measures such as visa bonds have demonstrated that he has not retreated from those positions. This, they say, indicates that Trump is likely to maintain a hardline stance on China as well.
Before assuming responsibility for South and Central Asia, Paul Kapur served as a professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, where he taught South Asian politics, security, and international relations.
During 2020–21, Kapur worked as a policy planning official at the U.S. Department of State, focusing on South and Central Asia, the Indo-Pacific strategy, and U.S.–India relations.
Prior to that role, he taught at Claremont McKenna College and also served as a visiting professor at Stanford University. Kapur earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and completed his PhD at the University of Chicago.
