NEW DELHI, May 01, 2022 (BSS) - Career diplomat Vinay Mohan Kwatra took
charges as the India's 34th foreign secretary succeeding Harsh Vardhan
Shringla, who retired from service on Saturday.

"Vinay Kwatra assumed charge as foreign secretary today morning. #TeamMEA
wishes Foreign Secretary Kwatra a productive and successful tenure ahead,"
MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted today.

Kwatra, a former ambassador of India to Nepal and a 1988-batch Indian Foreign
Service (IFS) officer, held positions in India's diplomatic missions in
Washington DC and Beijing.

He had also served as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office during
his 32 years of service.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of
Kwatra to the post of Foreign Secretary upon the superannuation of Shringla
on April 30, 2022.

Prior to his diplomatic posting to Nepal in 2020, he served as the Ambassador
of India to France from August 2017 to February 2020.

Kwatra is known to be having extensive expertise in dealing with India's
neighbourhood as well as the US, China and Europe.

He took charge as the foreign secretary at a time when India is dealing with
various geopolitical developments including the Ukraine conflict, the severe
economic crisis in Sri Lanka and situation in Afghanistan and developments in
the Indo-Pacific.