New Delhi: Deputy National Security Advisor and former envoy to China, Vikram Misri, took over as the 35th foreign secretary Monday and will steer India’s foreign policy initiatives amid the Russia-Ukraine war and the military crisis with China.
His predecessor Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who is likely to be the next envoy to the US, demitted office the previous day.
Misri, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) of the 1989 Batch, has the unique distinction of serving as private secretary to three prime ministers – I.K. Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.
As a diplomat, he has also served in across the world, including Brussels, Tunis, Islamabad, and Washington DC. He has also been a former deputy high commissioner of India to Sri Lanka and consul general in Munich.
His appointment comes at a time when global geopolitics is in churn with two major conflicts happening – the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
As the foreign secretary, he will also have to walk the tightrope when it comes to India’s relations with both US and Russia besides of course with China.
Incidentally, ahead of Modi’s recent trip to Russia, the American Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell had called up Kwatra seeking postponement.
India’s stand of ‘strategic autonomy’ has also come under criticism from the US even as relations between the two countries continue to grow deeper.
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Diplomatic sources said that Misri’s stint as the Deputy NSA meant that he was already in the thick of issues.
Misri took over as deputy NSA on 1 January 2022, after completing a two-year tenure in China. It was during this period that the movements of Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh resulted in clashes at the Galwan Valley in June 2020.
As ambassador to China at the time, Misri was involved in handling the crisis and reducing tension between the two Asian countries, which was at its highest since the 1962 war. The new foreign secretary has also played a crucial role in formulating New Delhi’s response to the Russia-Ukraine war.
In March this year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with Jaishankar and Misri during his maiden visit to New Delhi.
During his years with the foreign ministry, Misri also served as India’s envoy to Spain in 2014 and Myanmar in 2016.
Born in Srinagar, Misri was educated in the city as well as in Udhampur in Jammu before finishing school at Scindia School in Gwalior. He attended Hindu College, University of Delhi, and completed an MBA from XLRI in Jamshedpur.
The new foreign secretary also worked in the private sector, specifically advertising and advertising film-making before joining the Indian Foreign Service.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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