The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) is an agency within the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

that is responsible for the U.S. government's relations with countries in the South and Central Asian region. The bureau is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, who reports to the Secretary of State through the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The current Assistant Secretary is

Donald Lu Donald Lu (born 1966) is a United States diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs since 2021. He previously served as both the United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan from 2018 to 2021 and the United ...

, incumbent since September 15, 2021.

History

After six years of trying,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

allocated the funds to create an independent Bureau of South Asian Affairs in 1991. Pursuant to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, the Bureau of South Asian Affairs was established on August 24, 1992, after having been a part of the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs since 1958.Crossette, Barbara. "Congress Is Impatient for South Asia Bureau". ''New York Times'', December 26, 1991

In February 2006 the bureau absorbed the Office of Central Asian Affairs from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

Organization

The offices of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs direct, coordinate, and supervise U.S. government activities within the region, including political, economic,

consular A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

public diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...

, and administrative management issues. SCA chart

*SCA Front Office – The office of the Assistant Secretary and other principals in the bureau *Office of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Maldives Affairs – Informs policy and coordinates with U.S. Missions in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

, and the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

*Office of Pakistan Affairs – Oversees Pakistan–United States relations, and liaises with the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan *Office of Central Asian Affairs – Informs policy and coordinates with U.S. Missions in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

, and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

*Office of Security and Transnational Affairs *Office of Press and Public Diplomacy – Coordinates public outreach and digital engagement, and prepares press guidance for the Department Spokesperson in the

Bureau of Public Affairs The Bureau of Public Affairs (PA) was the part of the United States Department of State that carries out the Secretary of State's mandate to help Americans understand the importance of foreign policy. The Bureau was led by the Assistant Secreta ...

*Office of Afghanistan Affairs – Oversees Afghanistan–United States relations, and liaises with the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan

References

External links