Trump nominates Indian-American as economic diplomacy head

Washington: US President Donald Trump has nominated Manisha Singh, a prominent Indian-American lawyer, to a key administration position in the State Department that would make her in charge of the country's economic diplomacy, as per a report in the Hindustan Times.

If confirmed by the Senate, Singh would replace Charles Rivkin as the assistant secretary of state for economic affairs, according to the White House.

She is currently chief counsel and senior policy adviser to senator Dan Sullivan.

The position has been vacant since January after Rivkin resigned following Trump's swearing-in as the 45th president of the United States.

A resident of Florida, Singh, 45, has served as the deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, and as an aide to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Her private sector experience includes practicing law at multinational firms and working in-house at an investment bank.

She holds an LL.M degree in International Legal Studies from the American University Washington College of Law, a J.D from the University of Florida College of Law and completed her a BA from the University of Miami at the age of 19.

Singh is licensed to practice law in Florida, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, she moved to Florida along with her parents as a child.

In an interview to Washington Examiner early this year, Singh said she worked on broader foreign policy component in the office of Senator Sullivan.

With PTI Inputs