New Delhi: The government has appointed IFS Vinay Mohan Kwatra, India's ambassador to Nepal, as the new foreign secretary. Kwatra will succeed Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who will retire at the end of April, ANI reported.
The Centre said he would take charge as the foreign secretary on April 30. Kwatra's appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, PTI reported.
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who has been in foreign service for over 32 years, has also served as Ambassador to France.
He has served in a range of assignments in Washington DC, Geneva, Beijing, South Africa and as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.
After joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1988, Kwatra served as third secretary and then second secretary in the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva until 1993, according to his profile posted by the Embassy Of India, Kathmandu.
There he handled work relating to UN specialised agencies and the Human Rights Commission.
Between 1993 and 2003, he served as desk officer at UN headquarters and subsequently in the diplomatic missions in South Africa and Uzbekistan.
Between 2003 and 2006, he served as counsellor and later as the deputy Chief of Mission in the embassy of India, Beijing, China. From 2006 to 2010, he represented India at the SAARC secretariat in Nepal as head of the Trade, Economy and Finance Bureau.
From May 2010 till July 2013, he served as minister (Commerce) at the Washington embassy.
Between July 2013 and October 2015, Kwatra headed the policy planning and research division of the Ministry of External Affairs and later served as the head of Americas division in the Foreign Ministry. There he dealt with India’s relations with the United States and Canada.
From October 2015 to August 2017, Kwatra served as joint secretary in the office of the Prime Minister of India. From August 2017 till February 2020, he served as the Ambassador of India to France.
He has been serving as Ambassador of India to Nepal from March 2020.
Kwatra is married to Pooja, who has done her master's degree in business administration and MPhil in finance.