The current United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert O. Blake is to become the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, a media report said.

According to the report, his nomination to the post will be formally announced and submitted in the near future.

If confirmed, Blake will be replacing the current Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher in overseeing a region in turmoil.

According to the US State Department South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau handles the U.S. foreign policy relations in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and former Soviet states in Central Asia.

Blake, a career Foreign Service Officer served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India from 2003 – 2006 before assuming his position in Sri Lanka in September 2006. (Lankapage)