Amidst a recent development, a 1989-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Mr. Vikram Misri, was appointed India’s new Foreign Secretary under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), replacing Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Officer Misri shall assume his office from July 15th. The outgoing Foreign Secretary, Mr. Kwatra, is expected to be appointed as India’s next envoy to the United States in Washington, DC.
Officer Misri, who previously served as Private Secretary to prime ministers Inder Kumar Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, was appointed to his position in the National Security Council Secretariat in January 2022. He has a sound reputation for his diplomatic expertise while dealing with China. As a matter of fact, his last ambassadorial posting was in Beijing. At this time, Officer Misri expedited the negotiations and worked behind the scenes during the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate diplomatic and military conversations.
Mr. Vikram Misri played a pivotal role in contacting the Xi Jinping government in China after the standoff in eastern Ladakh and Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in 2020. Hence, Officer Misri’s expertise with China makes him an indispensable candidate for the Foreign Secretary’s post in the backdrop of India’s diplomatic strains with the Red Dragon. In his over three-decade-long stint with the bureaucracy, Mr. Misri served as the Indian ambassador to Spain and Myanmar. He also participated in the Indian missions to Belgium, Pakistan, the US, Sri Lanka and Germany.
