Gyawali congratulates India's new foreign minister

Published On: May 31, 2019 05:13 PM NPT By: Samriti Maharjan

KATHMANDU, May 31: Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali congratulated newly-appointed External Affairs Minister of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

In his message, Gyawali expressed his confidence that bilateral ties and cooperative partnership subsisting between two countries will be further strengthened during the tenure of Jaishankar, according to a press release issued by MoFA.

Jaishankar, the former foreign secretary of India, was appointed the External Affairs Minister of India earlier today. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy on Thursday.

He has become the first former foreign secretary to be inducted as the minister in the Indian cabinet.

Jaishankar has become the first former IFS officer to join the government without being a member of the ruling party, the Hindu reported. As Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jaishankar conducted the massive relief operation in Nepal after the devastating earthquake in April 2015.

He was also responsible for boosting India’s campaign for a seat at the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other export control regimes.

Mr. Jaishankar’s experience with China is acknowledged in policy circles in India. As India’s Ambassador in Beijing, he handled the issue of stapled visa for Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh and later as Foreign Secretary, he helmed the response to the 73-day Doklam standoff in 2017.

He also worked in support of broadening of India’s maritime diplomacy by reaching out to the Asia-Pacific region. The Quad dialogue involving India, Japan, US and Australia was conducted during his stint as the Foreign Secretary in 2017.

Born to strategic affairs commentator K. Subrahmanyam and Sulochana, Mr Jaishankar was educated in JNU and joined Indian Foreign Service in 1977 after a brief stint as a journalist.

Serving in multiple locations like Sri Lanka, his decades-long career was distinguished for great power experience. Mr Jaishankar, a Russian language expert served his longest ambassadorial tenure in China during the UPA era and followed by his stint in the US.

After his retirement in 2018, he joined Tata Sons. He received a Padma Shri, one of the high civil decorations of the Indian state for his services in 2019.