Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed as India's new Foreign Secretary: Govt

India's envoy to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra was on Monday appointed as the new Foreign Secretary, succeeding Harsh Vardhan Shringla who will retire at the end of this month, a personnel ministry order said.

Announcing the appointment of Kwatra, a 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, the ministry said he will take charge as the foreign secretary on April 30. Kwatra's appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

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

A career diplomat with over 32 years of experience, Kwatra has also held the position of a Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for two years between October 2015 to August 2017.

Kwatra headed the policy planning & research division of the Ministry of External Affairs between July 2013 and October 2015 and later served as the head of the Americas Division in the Foreign Ministry where he dealt with India's relations with the United States and Canada.

He served as Minister (Commerce) in the Embassy of India, Washington from May 2010 till July 2013.

Between 2003 and 2006, he served as a Counsellor and later as the Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India, Beijing, China.

After joining the service, he served as Third Secretary and then Second Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva until 1993, where apart from learning the French language, he handled work relating to the UN specialized agencies, as also the Human Rights Commission.

During this period, he also obtained a diploma in International Relations from the Graduate School of International Studies in Geneva.