Trump-aide Juster is a familiar India hat, led talks under Bush

For New Delhi, the likely appointment of US PresidentDonaldTrumpaideKenneth Juster as the ambassador could be a relief from the “unknown unknown” factors so frequently associated with the new American dispensation.

White House officials said Juster is set to be the next occupant of the Roosevelt House, the residence of United States ambassador to New Delhi, to succeed Richard Verma, the first Indian-origin US envoy to the country.

The Trump administration has kept the world capital buzzing on various issues — resetting the terms of the way the US engages with the world to pull out of the Paris climate deal and to showing no hurry in appointing envoys in many capitals. “Someone like Juster, who is a known entity will be good for India. He knows the country and region well,” said a government source.

Juster, 62, is a senior official in the National Economic Council of the White House. But he played a key role in fostering India-US ties during George Bush’s presidency. He served as the US chair of the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG), a key initiative of Bush administration in advancing strategic ties with India, especially in the context of India-US nuclear deal.

The HTCG was created in 2002 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It had two broad agendas - to promote strategic trade, means getting access to dual use of items through easing of control of exports of such goods to India. India had to agree that exported items would meet the US concerns on valid end use,