gfiles magazine

January 11, 2016

Search for foreign secy begins

The search for the new Foreign Secretary has begun as the incumbent, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, is superannuating this year. So, who will be the new Foreign Secretary of India? There are many competent officers in the lineup but, as is the nature of the Prime Minister, there is no indication till now as to who will be appointed to this prestigious post. As the clock ticks, Navtej Singh Sarna would have been the obvious choice but he has been appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Another officer who would have been a good choice was Anil Wadhwa, but he has been appointed Ambassador to Italy. It is learnt that a lobby within the Ministry of External Affairs was not on good terms with Anil Wadhwa. If the sources are to be believed, India’s Ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale, is now the frontrunner for the post. It is believed Gokhale’s specialisation in China is in his favour; he also speaks fluent Chinese. A change of guard in South Block does not, however, mean that Jaishankar will be completely out of the ruling set-up.  Sources disclose that there might be two security chiefs: one to look after internal security and the other to oversee the foreign front. In the given international scenario, security is going to be a paramount subject of the government. Watch this space. g


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