Acting top US diplomat for South Asia Alice G Wells set to retire

WASHINGTON (AFP): The acting top US diplomat for South Asia, Alice G Wells, has announced her retirement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced.

According to the US State Department, Alice Wells – who has served as acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia for most of the Trump administration – will retire on May 22 after a 31-year career.

In this regard, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took to Twitter and said, “I will miss Alice’s wise counsel and dedicated efforts to build relationships and address challenges across South and Central Asia.”

After 31 years of dedicated service, Ambassador Alice Wells will retire from @StateDept this month. I will miss Alice’s wise counsel and dedicated efforts to build relationships and address challenges across South and Central Asia.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 3, 2020

In another tweet he said, “I personally came to admire Ambassador Wells’ dedication to our team’s mission and her dogged pursuit of American excellence. We commend her service and wish her the best.”

I personally came to admire Ambassador Wells’ dedication to our team’s mission and her dogged pursuit of American excellence. We commend her service and wish her the best.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 3, 2020

The US State Department also announced that the new acting assistant secretary will be Tom Vajda, a veteran US diplomat on South Asia who was earlier consul general in Mumbai.

Under US President Donald Trump, South and Central Asia have been the only region of the world yet to have a full-fledged assistant secretary of state confirmed by the Senate.

With six months to go before presidential elections, the chances look slim that an assistant secretary will be nominated and confirmed by the Senate soon.