Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate; while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world's land area, 21% of the world's population and 4.21% of the global economy, as of 2019.
In the United States government, the Bureau of African Affairs (AF) is part of the U.S. Department of State and is charged with advising the Secretary of State on matters of Sub-Saharan Africa. The bureau was established in 1958. It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs who reports to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Molly Phee is the current Assistant Secretary.
Robert Orris Blake Jr. is an American career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2009 to 2013 and Ambassador to Indonesia from 2014 to 2016.
Michele Jeanne Sison is an American diplomat and career member of the Senior Foreign Service serving as the assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs. She has previously served in various other diplomatic posts around the world on behalf of the United States, including ambassador to Haiti. Sison holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador.
The Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary guides the operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in various countries of North Africa and the Middle East and advises the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Former Assistant Secretary, David Welch, who was sworn in on March 18, 2005, resigned his appointment on December 18, 2008.
The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs is the head of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs within the United States Department of State, which handles U.S. foreign policy and relations in the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Richard Eugene Hoagland is a career ambassador in the United States Department of State. He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in State's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, 2013-2015. In the summer of 2016, based at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, he was the senior U.S. liaison to the Russian Reconciliation Center at the Russian military base in Latakia, Syria. In 2017 he served as interim U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the group appointed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to coordinate international peacemaking efforts on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Karl Frederick Inderfurth is an American diplomat. He was the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs from August 1997 to January 2001. In his capacity as Assistant Secretary, Inderfurth was responsible for US policy regarding Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary, Inderfurth served as the U.S. Representative for Special Political Affairs to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador. In this capacity, Ambassador Inderfurth dealt with issues such as UN peacekeeping, disarmament, nuclear proliferation and security affairs. Ambassador Inderfurth also served as Deputy U.S. Representative on the United Nations Security Council.
Nancy Jo Powell was the United States Ambassador to India from April 2012 to May 2014.
Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, is head of a SAARC Secretariat, which is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. SAARC is an economic and geopolitical union between the eight South Asian member nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Secretary-General is appointed for a three-year term by election by a council of Ministers from member states. Secretary-General is assisted by eight deputies, one from each nation, who also reside in Kathmandu. SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 by Bangladeshi diplomat Abul Ahsan, who was its first Secretary-General, and was inaugurated by King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. Since its creation, its member nations have contributed to a total of fourteenth General Secretaries. Sri Lanka's diplomat Esala Weerakoon is the current Secretary-General, having assumed charge on 1 March 2020.
Neighbourhood First Policy of India, a core component of India's foreign policy, focuses on peaceful relations and collaborative synergetic co-development with its South Asian neighbors of the Indian subcontinent encompassing a diverse range of topics, such as economic, technology, research and education, connectivity, space program, defence security, environment and climate challenge. This policy creates new avenues as well as leverages existing regional cooperation initiatives, such as SAARC, SASEC, BBIN, and BIMSTEC. It compliments India's Look East policy focused on Southeast Asia and Look West Policy focused on Middle East.
Atul Keshap is an American diplomat and career United States Foreign Service Officer from Virginia who recently served as the Chargé d'affaires of the United States mission to India. He formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the United States Department of State. In January, 2022, he was appointed as the president of U.S.-India Business Council.
Alaina B. Teplitz has served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration since 2021. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2018–2021 and U.S. Ambassador to Nepal from 2015–2018. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, she joined the State Department in 1991 and is the recipient of numerous Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.
To date, eight visits have been made to Afghanistan and India, five have been made to Pakistan, to Bangladesh. No incumbent president has yet visited Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, or Sri Lanka.
Nicholas Dean is an American diplomat and former Ambassador to the Bangladesh. He served as the special envoy for Holocaust of the state department.
Thomas Laszlo Vajda is an American diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Myanmar since 2021.
David J Ranz is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service who has been serving as Consul General in Mumbai since August 2019. Ranz has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs; and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Pakistan. Ranz was also Director of the Office of Pakistan Affairs.
Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States Ambassador to Togo.
