By Seema SirohiThe suspense was considerable, the anticipation high and now there is palpable relief — US President Donald Trump has maintained diplomatic tradition and nominated a respected and trusted expert as his ambassador to India. Kenneth Juster is seen as the right man in the right job. His deep experience with India policy going back to previous Republican administrations is second to none. The general consensus — the fit couldn’t be better.In other words, Trump sees India as an important partner that deserves serious representation, not political hackery. Richard Haass , president of the Council on Foreign Relations, called Juster an “inspired” choice and Robert Blackwill, a former envoy to India, said he would make a “terrific” ambassador.His private sector colleagues also lavished high praise. Boris Feldman, a lawyer who has worked with him, said Juster would be the “best man” for the job given his “experience in public policy, law and investment, all of which touch on relations with India.” And he is “unflappable”. Ever since Juster’s name came up earlier this year, other contenders for the India job tried to muddy the waters, leaking stories that he was being “ousted” because he had locked horns with the nationalist faction in the White House. Well-informed sources denied any such implication and stressed that Juster was the unanimous choice.At a time when Washington is deeply riven and dangerously partisan, Republicans and Democrats alike welcomed Juster’s nomination in a rare spirit of bipartisanship. It was both a testament to the continued support for a strong India-US partnership and to Juster’s formidable reputation. His Senate confirmation hearing later this month is expected to go smoothly. “We are at a critical juncture in the relationship and Ken is the right person to take us to the next level. I hope the Senate confirms him quickly,” said Richard Verma, a Democrat, and the last US ambassador to India.If confirmed, Juster will join the list of illustrious ambassadors going back to John Kenneth Galbraith, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tom Pickering and Frank Wisner, among others. Interestingly, as a freshman at Harvard, Juster’s first two lectures were by Galbraith and Moynihan, but who knew he would follow in their giant footsteps? And here’s a story that should be endearing to ageing rockers – Juster and two friends interviewed The Rolling Stones. Admittedly, it was a little while back, like in sixth grade, but the trio met Mick Jagger to quiz him for their school newspaper. A fellow student, Tom Goodman, shared a copy with your correspondent and there it was — a sharp, brief interview with Jagger on why “Satisfaction” was the No.1 song in 1965, views on appropriate clothing, the future of pop groups. The boys found Jagger’s answers “dull”. India will be anything but dull. New Delhi reportedly granted Juster’s “agreement” — a diplomatic courtesy — in record time, signalling it was more than satisfied with the nomination. It is reliably learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had expressed enthusiasm at his prospective selection to senior US officials during a meeting some months ago.Perhaps, it was a subtle hint that those publicly lobbying to get the coveted position didn’t inspire confidence in New Delhi. In fact, one Trump donor in particular who was pushing his case hard set the Modi government’s teeth on edge. The jockeying continued even after Juster was named. His private sector stint as a partner with Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, was used to cast a shadow but he had resigned from that position in December and divested as required under the ethics rules. It’s a matter of public record.The aspirants underestimated the importance the Trump Administration attached to the India file — donations weren’t enough, domain knowledge was a prerequisite. Notably, India thus far has escaped the Twitter treatment. An old India hand, Juster has a hefty resume. He has a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master’s in public policy from the John F Kennedy School of Government, also at Harvard. Apart from serving in various positions in the government, he was executive vice-president at Salesforce. com, a senior partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter and later a managing director at Warburg Pincus. Tom Goodman, CEO of Goodman Media, who has known the candidate for more than 50 years, said Juster has all the right tools to be a “great” ambassador.“Ken can talk about almost any subject with great authority and understanding.”From world affairs to the idiosyncrasies in a particular baseball game, he has the range. But, most importantly, Juster has the ear of the Trump White House, an essential qualification. Diplomatic history is replete with envoys floundering rudderless in foreign capitals because they can’t call the White House when needed.“The point about Ken is he knows all the key players on a personal basis. He will have an advantage over almost anyone who could have been named. His knowledge about India is encyclopaedic,” said Wisner. Coming from one of the most sophisticated practitioners of diplomacy, it was high praise. Among the first to be inducted into the Trump Administration as deputy assistant to the president, Juster served in both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, harmonising different inputs into policy. He worked closely over the last seven months with Vice-President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser HR McMaster, Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn and others. “This is a tremendous advantage for an ambassador.This is the reason political ap pointees have much more influence to shape policy than career diplomats, no matter how gifted they are,” according to Blackwill, who was George W Bush’s ambassador and is remembered for breaking down barriers in American thinking on India. The choice should further strengthen connections between the PMO and the White House, with the two inner circles aligned and working closely on the big picture. Several US observers have revealed that Trump’s best meeting so far with a foreign leader was with Modi. “We are on the same page,” said an official. While it’s true of the big picture, India will closely watch how the Trump Administration executes the new Af-Pak policy and whether the words are indeed matched by deeds.(Juster has the ear of the Trump White House, an essential qualification. Diplomatic history is replete with envoys floundering in foreign capitals because they can’t call the White House when needed)That may just be the first assignment on the new ambassador’s desk. Juster is known to have a strong streak of pragmatism. In the early 2000s he was key when India and the US began probing new horizons to break out of the rut of negativity that had marked bilateral relations. He knows and has worked with several senior Indian officials, including former foreign secretaries Shyam Saran and Kanwal Sibal. In 2002, Juster set up the Indo-US High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG) to make trade in dual-use technology easier. The easing of restrictions showed quick results — US high-tech exports climbed from $1.3 billion in 2003 to $8.06 billion in 2007, according to figures on the Indian Embassy website. The HTCG has survived in a sea of bilateral dialogue where many wilt for lack of sustained interest.As undersecretary of commerce, Juster went on to negotiate Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) in 2004 which aimed to expand cooperation in three specific areas: civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programmes and high-technology trade. The idea was to take a series of reciprocal steps to enable the transfer of dual-use technology. India was to tighten its export controls to prevent leakage while the US was to relax its controls to favour India. The initiative eventually led to the landmark India-US civil-nuclear agreement.In a serendipitous turn of fate, one of Juster’s interlocutors from those days — S Jaishankar — is now India’s foreign secretary. The two have stayed in touch over the years, lunching in Asian capitals and exchanging ideas during meetings of the Aspen Institute’s US-India Strategic Dialogue. They know each other well, including how tough and persistent the other can be. Both enjoy a good argument and share a sly sense of humour. Jaishankar made it a point to meet Juster in the White House when he came earlier this year to establish contact with the Trump Administration and take the pulse of the new team. But here’s the thing — can these two men of definite ability take the big leap forward and give more ballast to the “strategic” partnership?Juster’s background across the US government — defence, economy, energy — and his relationships on both sides of the political divide should be an asset in pushing the bilateral agenda forward. But the real test will be in the execution, with the State Department reeling under drastic budget cuts and low morale. While the White House can set policy, it still needs experienced officials to implement decisions. The Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs, which now includes Afghanistan and Pakistan, remains under an “acting” assistant secretary.The merging of the AfPak office back into South Asia should make for a more coherent policy in the future, but when the department might fill all the positions is anyone’s guess. One the one hand it may complicate the US ambassador’s life not to have a fully staffed bureaucracy to work with but on the other, it would make him even more critical in the decision-making process. Juster’s love of sports — baseball and basketball — should help him defend and move the ball forward.(Jaishankar and Juster know each other well, including how tough and persistent the other can be. Both enjoy a good argument and share a sly sense of humour)