One of America's highest-ranking diplomats, Deputy Secretary Bill Burns, who played a key role in India-US relationship in the last few years of his his 32-year-long career, is to retire this year.
Burns announced yesterday that he will retire in October.
President Barack Obama, and Secretary of State John Kerry, showered praises on him, describing him as one of the best American diplomats.
"Since I met Bill in Moscow in 2005, I have admired his skill and precision. Since I took office, I have relied on him for candid advice and sensitive diplomatic missions - he has been a skilled advisor, consummate diplomat, and inspiration to generations of public servants," Obama said in a statement.
Burns holds the highest rank in the Foreign Service-Career Ambassador-and became Deputy Secretary of State in July 2011. He is only the second serving career diplomat in history to become Deputy Secretary, and the longest serving.
"It is hard to find words adequate to express who Bill Burns is, and what he means not just to the State Department, but to American foreign policy. With characteristic humility, he has enormous impact and influence in untold ways and myriad issues," Kerry said.
"Bill is a statesman cut from the same cloth, calibre, and contribution as George Kennan and Chip Bohlen, and he has more than earned his place in a very short list of American diplomatic legends, he said.
Early this week in New York, Burns at a public appearance pushed for strong India-US ties.
"I remain convinced that as we look at the next two decades and beyond, our (Indo-US) strategic interests will remain far more aligned than not," Burns, said.
"This is especially true in the Asia-Pacific, where our joint efforts to promote regional security and political and economic openness are gradually becoming a defining dimension of our partnership," he said.
Burns has also said no partnership has undergone a greater transformation over the past couple decades than our relationship with India.
Earlier in his letter to Kerry, Burns informed him of his decision to retire from the Foreign Service in October after thirty two years of service.
"I owe a great deal to my friends and colleagues in the Department - to the mentors and role models who showed me over the years how to be a good diplomat; to the peers and subordinates who always made me look far better than I ever deserved; and to the men and women who serve our country with honor and distinction in hard places around the world as I write this letter," Burns wrote.
