On Wednesday, March 12, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and the Dinu Patricu Eurasia Center and the US Department of State’s South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau hosted a special Capitol Hill briefing with US Ambassadors to four South Asian and four Central Asian nations.

The Hon. Nancy J. Powell, US Ambassador to India and The Hon. John Ordway, US Chargé d’Affaires to Kazakhstan, provided commentary on the issues facing the region, particularly as the Afghanistan war draws to a close. South Asia Center Director Shuja Nawaz moderated a broader regional discussion with The Hon. Powell and The Hon. Ordway, and the other distinguished panelists: The Hon. Dan W. Mozena, US Ambassador to Bangladesh; The Hon. Pamela Spratlen, US Ambassador to Kyrgyz Republic; The Hon. Peter W. Bodde, US Ambassador to Nepal; The Hon. Michele J. Sison, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives; The Hon. Robert Patterson, US Ambassador to Turkmenistan; and The Hon. George Krol, US Ambassador to Uzbekistan. Introductory remarks were provided by Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, US Department of State and Ross Wilson, Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council. Senator Timothy Kaine, taking a break from his duties as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined the discussion to express his appreciation for the Ambassadors’ service and the significance of this region in the coming years.