Senior US Diplomat Donald Lu Visits South Asia, Discusses Indo-Pacific and Regional Security

Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

NEW DELHI—Senior U.S. diplomat Donald Lu traveled to South Asia from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10, visiting India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

The goal of Lu’s trip was to “strengthen cooperation with key partners in South Asia to promote regional prosperity and security,” the State Department said on Dec. 2.

South Asia has witnessed new governments this year in India and Sri Lanka, while Nepal has just joined the Chinese regime’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

For Lu, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, it was his last trip to South Asia for the Biden administration.

The visit began with New Delhi, where Lu was joined by Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, according to the State Department. The two diplomats led U.S. participation in the U.S.–India East Asia consultations.

Visits to Sri Lanka and Nepal

Lu then traveled to Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Dec. 5. His purpose was to promote joint efforts between the United States and Sri Lanka in the areas of sustainable economic growth, combating corruption, and strengthening people-to-people ties, according to the State Department.

In Colombo, Lu was joined by U.S. Agency for International Development Deputy Assistant Administrator Anjali Kaur and Treasury Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Kaproth. They met the government officials from Sri Lanka’s new administration and representatives from civil society.

Sri Lanka elected Anura Kumara Dissanayake as its new president on Sept. 21. Dissanayake won over long-established politicians, including incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. Two years ago, massive public protests ousted then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Lu met with Dissanayake on Dec. 7. A statement from the office of the Sri Lankan president notes that the United States has pledged support to the president’s anti-corruption drive and has offered technical expertise to help recover funds that were illegally taken out of Sri Lanka.

“I emphasized fostering a transparent political culture, uplifting rural living standards, and modernizing public services,” Dissanayake said in a message on social media platform X on the day of the meeting.

After Sri Lanka, Lu arrived in the Himalayan nation of Nepal on Dec. 8. The focus of his engagement with senior Nepalese leadership was strengthening bilateral ties and advancing cooperation in areas of environmental protection, women’s empowerment, cultural preservation, and sustainable development, the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu said in a message on X.

A few days before Lu’s trip to the Himalayan country, Nepal and China signed a framework agreement for the Chinese regime’s BRI. The agreement was signed on Dec. 4 during a visit to Beijing by Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. An initial pact had been signed seven years ago, but no framework for cooperation was set as Nepal’s political parties struggled to come to a consensus on the BRI.

Before wrapping up his South Asian trip, Lu told reporters in Kathmandu on Dec. 9 that the BRI deal should be transparent. The United States is waiting for the new text of the BRI deal between Nepal and Beijing to be released before making any statement, the Kathmandu Post reported Lu as saying.

Reuters contributed to this report.