Seasoned diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla took charge as India’s new Foreign Secretary on Wednesday, and asserted that he would work with India’s partners on key issues, including ensuring an “undifferentiated and unambiguous” approach to terrorism.
A 1984-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) who last served as India’s envoy to the US, Shringla replaces Vijay Gokhale and has a fixed two-year tenure. Gokhale retired on Tuesday. Shringla is taking over the high-profile post at a time when India is facing several foreign policy challenges including battling criticism from some countries and international fora of the country’s new citizenship law.
In a statement after assuming charge, Shringla said he looks forward to working with India’s many international partners on several fronts, including enhancing developmental and economic linkages, connectivity with neighbours, sustaining the gains of a rules-based multilateral order as well as “seeking a shared, undifferentiated and unambiguous approach to terrorism and the threat it poses to free societies”.
Several other recent opportunities and challenges related to the cyber domain and emerging technologies will also receive attention during his tenure, the 57-year-old diplomat said, adding that the External Affairs Ministry fully appreciates the critical nature of these issues for the country and the planet.
“I entered the IFS during the Cold War and I am entering the FS’ office at a time when global warming has become a pressing concern,” he said in the statement. Sharing the Indian developmental experience with countries of the global South, especially with friends in Africa and Latin America, will continue to be a priority, Shringla said, adding that he also looks forward to the opening of new diplomatic missions and the inauguration of new initiatives.
Speaking to reporters before taking the charge, Shringla said he was very clear that foreign service is a public service and its every effort should be dedicated to contributing towards the nation in the form of its security and prosperity through external engagements.
“I am as committed to the Ministry’s role in nation-building as I was almost 36 years ago when I entered these portals as a young professional. I look forward to functioning under the guidance of the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister, our political leadership and with the support and cooperation of my colleagues both within the ministry and outside,” he said.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very particular about building strong bonds with other countrires, Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, is himself a foreign affairs expert. So, let us hope Shringla’s era would make India a friend to all.