Senior Indian Foreign Service officer Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Sunday assumed charge as the new Foreign Secretary of the country, informed Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

“Vinay Kwatra assumed charge as Foreign Secretary today morning. #TeamMEA wishes Foreign Secretary Kwatra a productive and successful tenure ahead,” tweeted Bagchi.

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Earlier, on April 4, the Centre appointed IFS officer Vinay Mohan Kwatra as the new foreign secretary.

Kwatra, a 1988-batch IFS officer, is currently serving as Ambassador in Kathmandu since January 2020. He will replace incumbent Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a 1984-batch IFS officer.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Kwatra to the post of Foreign Secretary upon the superannuation of Harsh Vardhan Shringla on April 30, a Ministry of Personnel order issued on Monday mentioned.

Born in 1965, Kwatra holds a degree of Master in Science (M.Sc.) He has previously served at the Ministry of External Affairs, and Prime Minister’s Office as Joint Secretary.

Kwatra has also served as Minister (Commerce) at the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. from May 2010 to July 2013. Between July 2013 and October 2015,

Kwatra headed the Policy Planning & Research Division of the Ministry of External Affairs 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.

Kwatra has served in different positions in many of India’s missions abroad and in India. Kwatra holds an experience of nearly 32 years in a range of assignments.