New Delhi, Jan 10: Mumbai-born Ashley Tellis, a former White House official and renowned India expert, could be appointed the next United States ambassador to New Delhi by president-elect Donald Trump, a media report said.
According to Washington Post, Trump’s Asia appointments are outpacing those for other regions and include top Asia hands. Transition sources said Trump is close to selecting 55-year-old Tellis to be the next US envoy to India to replace Richard Verma.
Tellis is at present a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think-tank. While on assignment to the US Department of State as senior adviser to the under secretary of state for political affairs, he was intimately involved in negotiating the historic civil nuclear deal with India.
He is the author of India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture (RAND, 2001) and co-author of Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (RAND, 2000).
The paper said public discussion of Trump’s foreign policy has focused on the fight against terrorism and the US relationship with Russia, and since the election the president-elect has nominated no one with Asia expertise to a senior position in his administration.(Inputs from Agencies)
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