The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment
of Vijay Keshav Gokhale, 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service, Secretary (economic
relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, as the new Foreign Secretary in
place of Dr S Jaishankar on the first day of 2018. Gokhale, India’s Ambassador
to China, had played a key role in defusing the 73-day-long Doklam crisis.
Gokhale, an expert on China affairs, was brought in as India’s top diplomat, in
South Block keeping in mind the diplomatic sensitivities. Significantly, it has
now become almost a pattern that an ex-Indian envoy to China has a better
chance to grab the coveted post of foreign secretary. Shivshankar Menon and
Nirupama Rao, both during the UPA time and S Jaishankar of the NDA regime,
happened to be India’s Ambassador to China and someone with a deep
understanding of India-China diplomatic intricacies. Gokhale is four years
junior to the current Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar. Gokhale joined the
Indian Foreign Service in 1981 and Jaishankar joined in 1977. Jaishankar was
appointed as the Foreign Secretary in January 2015, initially for two years,
and then, his tenure was extended for one more year till January 28, 2018.
Prior to joining the Foreign Services, Gokhale completed his Master’s degree in
History from Delhi University. Gokhale has represented India in Germany as well
as in Malaysia. He was the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia from January
2010 to October 2013, and Ambassador of India to the Federal Republic of
Germany from October 2013 to January 2016. Thereafter, Gokhale took charge as
India’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from January 2016 to
October 2017. Though India-China relations are likely to top Gokhale’s agenda
during the year 2018, other issues concerning India-US bilateral and those
arising out of Pakistan may prominently future in Gokhale’s list of priorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment