Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

Assistant Secretary Richard A. Boucher heads the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, which deals with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
U.S. and Japan: A Joint Approach to South and Central Asia Tokyo, Japan August 8, 2008 Assistant Secretary Boucher: "There are so many things going on in this region. I think we all found that the South Asia meeting in Colombo – not only the meetings in the hall but the meetings outside the hall…I was able to coordinate with my Japanese counterpart down there. We were all meeting with the Indians and the Pakistanis and the Afghans. It's a very active region right now. And that's basically good. So I welcome the cooperation with Japan. I think we, together, make an important contribution to peace and stability in this region, and I was glad to be able to spend some time with my Japanese counterparts in the last day."  Full Text
U.S.-Sri Lanka Relations  Colombo, Sri Lanka  August 3, 2008 Assistant Secretary Boucher (Aug. 3): "We are here to attend the SAARC summit. The United States is very happy to be part of SAARC as an observer. I was able to go last year to the meeting in Delhi and it has been a pleasure to be here in Sri Lanka, to see all my colleagues and friends in SAARC and people from the SAARC countries who come together and try to work together. " Remarks
Seeds of Peace Washington, DC July 6, 2008 Deputy Secretary Negroponte and Assistant Secretary Boucher welcome South Asian participants of Seeds of Peace in the Delegates Lounge.  Assistant Secretary Boucher: "We spend a lot of time working on diplomatic relations between these countries. I spend all my time working on India and Pakistan and Afghanistan and countries of this region. But in the long term, it’s the people themselves who carry forward. And when I talk about trucks or I talk about melons or I talk about mangos or economic opportunities or Kashmir, I have to realize that in the end it’s you all who are going to make it happen. So you’re starting something here that I hope goes on for a long, long time."   View Video | Full Text | Seeds of Peace Website
U.S.-Sri Lanka Relations Colombo, Sri Lanka July 3, 2008 Deputy Assistant Feigenbaum (July 3): " We continue to believe that, ultimately, only a political solution can produce a lasting peace, prosperity, and sense of security on the island….a process in which people are prepared to come back and work for the elements of a compromise that might give people an investment in the future, devolve power to communities, and give, in particular, the Tamil community a sense of investment in this country’s future….That’s why we’ve listened very closely when people have talked about things like, in the first place, the implementation of the 13th Amendment, which we think would be a good step, but a first step." Full Text
U.S.-Pakistan Dialogue  Islamabad, Pakistan July 2, 2008 Assistant Secretary Boucher (July 2): "I'm here this time as the result of a discussion that Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Qureshi had in Paris a couple of weeks ago, where we looked at all the things happening in Pakistan, we looked at all the various difficult issues that are being faced by the Pakistani people right now, and we decided we needed a very active dialogue between the United States and Pakistan, almost constant dialogue, to look at how we can deal with those issues, how we can work with all the leaders here to deal with those issues. So they asked me if I would come out sooner, and here I am. Of course I said yes, since my boss was counting on me. I was glad to come."  Full Text
U.S.-India Relations Las Vegas, Nevada June 27, 2008 Assistant Secretary Boucher (6/27): "Since India’s independence, our interaction has been marked by cooperation, estrangement, and occasionally indifference. The potential of the relationship never seemed to become reality. Although that complicated history informs where we are today, our relationship has come very far from the Cold War differences that once defined us." Full Text