Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, who was set to retire on this January 28, has been given an extension till January 28, 2018.
With Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, who is widely known to have the ear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set to retire on January 28, the grapevine in South Block and foreign policy circles is abuzz about whether he is going to get another extension.
Jaishankar was appointed Foreign Secretary on January 29, 2015, a couple of days before his retirement, replacing Sujatha Singh who resigned in protest seven months before her date of superannuation.
Jaishankar is known for his proximity to both Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his experience of having served as Ambassador in China and the US stands him in good stead.
With Donald Trump taking over as the US President, Jaishankar's experience will be invaluable in dealing with the new administration. He has already been to Washington and met key members of the Trump transition team prior to the US presidential inauguration on January 20.
The other immediate contenders by seniority for the position were Secretary (West) Sujatha Mehta, Secretary (Economic Relations) Amar Sinha and Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna, who was shifted from London to Washington after only seven months, Ambassador to Italy Anil Wadhwa and Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae.
Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale was at one time talked about to replace Jaishankar.
Jaishankar, a known workaholic who, according to insiders, often sleeps nights on his office couch, has been an astute articulator of the Modi foreign policy vision.
(With IANS inputs)
