US envoy congratulates Jaishankar on appointment as EAM

The US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, on Sunday congratulated Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on taking over as India's External Affairs Minister.

"Congratulations to @DrSJaishankar on your appointment as Minister of External Affairs @MEAIndia. You have been a key architect of the U.S.-India strategic partnership, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship! #USIndiaDosti," Juster tweeted.

A former career diplomat, Jaishankar has previously served as the Ambassador of India to the United States. A surprise addition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Union Cabinet, he will be helming the Ministry of External Affairs for the next five years under the NDA government.

The 1977-batch IFS officer and Padma Shri awardee served as the Foreign Secretary for three years - from 2015 until his retirement in 2018 - under Modi's previous term as Prime Minister.

The incumbent EAM has also served as India's Ambassador to China and the Czech Republic, and has been the High Commissioner to Singapore as well. He was also the First Secretary and Political Advisor to the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.

Jaishankar is also known as the Indian government's key strategist for China and the US. In 2008, he was a member of the team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal under the UPA government headed by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.