Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs 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.
Sign up for South and Central Asian Affairs email updates.
Comments on Afghanistan Elections
Special Representative Richard Holbrooke (Aug. 24): "Let's just wait for the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Complaints Commission (ECC) to reach their verdicts. ... And the United States and the international community will respect the process set up by Afghanistan itself." -Full Text
Recent Elections in Afghanistan
President Obama (Aug. 21): "Over the last few days...we've seen acts of violence and intimidation by the Taliban, and there may be more in the days to come. We knew that the Taliban would try to derail this election. Yet even in the face of this brutality, millions of Afghans exercised the right to choose their leaders and determine their own destiny." -Full Text
Ramadan
President Obama delivers Ramadan message (Aug. 21)
Security Situation in Pakistan
Special Representative Richard Holbrooke (Aug. 19): "[W]e will continue to make efforts to succeed in Afghanistan, we have made a lot of progress lately in both Afghanistan and Pakistan but as I said we recognize that a purely military solution is neither likely nor necessary." -Full Text
Sri Lanka and India
Assistant Secretary Blake's interview with Anbarasan Ethirajan of BBC World Service South Asia discusses Sri Lanka and India.
Afghanistan, India and Pakistan
Assistant Secretary Blake's interview with Dawn Newpaper and TV discusses Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.
Sri Lanka
Assistant Secretary Blake and Chargé d’Affaires Moore Discuss the Humanitarian Situation and Prospects for Political Reconciliation in Sri Lanka with Tamil Diaspora Groups (Aug. 12) -Media Note
Afghanistan
Upcoming Elections
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 17): "In three days' time, the Afghan people will go to the polls to elect a President and new Provincial Councils. This election day will not be without its challenges, but the Afghan people have seen unparalleled campaigning, debate and dialogue in their country. ... The Afghan people should be commended for their courage in conducting this election despite the stresses of wartime, and we and the international community are proud to support them." -Full Text
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Aug. 11): "This is not just about the State Department, although we have a vitally important role to play and we'll be deploying hundreds of civilians to Afghanistan in the coming weeks and months. But this is, as the Secretary has described, a whole-of-government effort. So it is obviously the State Department and NGOs, it is Agriculture, it is other aspects." Daily Press Briefing
Deputy Department Spokesman Wood (Aug. 10): "We’re engaged in a long-term struggle, as I’ve said before, against violent extremism. And whether Baitullah Mehsud is dead or alive doesn’t impact our understanding of what continues to need to be done to fight extremism" Daily Press Briefing
Pakistan and India
Deputy Department Spokesman Wood (Aug. 10): "This isn’t a zero-sum game. We have a very strong and growing partnership with India. We have a partnership with Pakistan that we’re trying to improve on. And we need to get away from these views of ... if we’re a supporter or we have a good relationship with India, that impacts the relationship with Pakistan. I understand that that’s how people in the region see it, but I think we really need to move away from this type of view in the 21st century." Daily Press Briefing
Security in Afghanistan
Special Representative Holbrooke (July 29): "It’s absolutely essential that over time Afghanistan assume responsibility for its own security and combat troops draw down. Of course, economic assistance, training, advisory work will continue for quite a while. The current force levels of police and army are clearly going to have to be increased." -Full Text -Video
Secretary Clinton (July 23): "Well, I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet with the foreign minister. Minister Qureshi has been an instrumental part in the actions taken by the Government of Pakistan to demonstrate the commitment to stability, and peace and prosperity that is at the core of their governmental mission. The United States has offered and continues to ensure to work with Pakistan in however Pakistan feels it’s appropriate in their courageous struggle against violent extremism." -Full Text
Assistant Secretary Crowley (July 23): "Special Representative Richard Holbrooke has arrived in Afghanistan after a stop in Pakistan. He will be meeting with officials of the Afghan Government over the next several days, and dealing with a variety of issues leading up to Afghan’s election on August 20. He spent the day today in Helmand province, but over the course of his time in Afghanistan will be focused on critical issues such as civilian-military planning, police, rule of law, Afghan civil society, and agriculture." -Full Daily Press Briefing
-Special Representative Richard Holbrooke - Afghanistan and Pakistan Status Video (July 23)
Fact Sheet - Delivery of U.S. Assistance to Aid Pakistan’s Crisis Response (July 22)
U.S.-India Cooperation
Secretary Clinton and Indian Minister of External Affairs S. M. Krishna signed an agreement jointly creating a $30 million endowment to be used for joint research and development, innovation, entrepreneurial, and commercialization activities in science and technology. U.S. – India Agreements and Achievements | U.S. – India Joint Statement (July 20)
Secretary Clinton Addresses the Council on Foreign Relations (July 15)
Afghanistan | India
The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.