Menon new foreign secy; Saran special envoy for Indo-US deal
The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Shiv Shankar Menon, has been appointed the new foreign secretary while the incumbent, Shyam Saran, will move to the PMO as special envoy for negotiations on the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Shiv Shankar Menon, has been appointed the new foreign secretary while the incumbent, Shyam Saran, will move to the PMO as special envoy for negotiations on the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement.
The move ends weeks of speculation in South Block that Mr Saran might be given a one year extension as the foreign secretary. Mr Menon, whose name had cropped up initially as being in the running for the post, is among India's finest diplomats who have served as ambassador to China, Sri Lanka, Israel and Pakistan in consecutive postings.
A 1972 batch officer, Mr Menon, 57, supersedes almost 16 people from the 1970 and 1971 batch. Mr Saran had superseded 12 people when he had taken over. Among the people passed over are Shashi U Tripathi, secretary (West) and Rajiv Sikri, secretary (East) and secretary (economic relations) Rinzing Wangdi. This also indicates that a reshuffle is on the cards.
While making the formal announcement today, the PMO said Mr Menon will take charge as the foreign secretary on October 1, when Mr Saran retires. For quite some time, there have been signals from the PMO that PM Manmohan Singh was in favour of giving Mr Saran an extended role at the end of his term as foreign secretary as a reward for his ”excellent performance” in office.
The foreign secretary-elect Mr Menon is an experienced officer with proven expertise in dealing with the delicate diplomatic tight-rope walk in India’s sensitive neighbourhoods. Mr Menon, who now has a three-year stint ahead of him as foreign secretary, went to China and Pakistan at a time when relations with both countries were at a low.
ADVERTISEMENT
During his tenure in China, there was said to be an improvement in ties leading to PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit. He took over as ambassador to Pakistan in ’03 and was part of the diplomatic initiative leading to the resumption of the stalled peace process in ’04. Of course one of the biggest challenges facing him now is how to get that peace process back on track.Mr Menon and Mr Saran will also have to see the Indo-US deal to its logical conclusion and also lobby the 45 countries of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to ensure India’s entry into the exclusive nuclear club. The deal goes to the US senate in September.
It certainly helps matters that Mr Menon has also had a stint in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) as an adviser. Meanwhile, many feel the entry of Mr Saran as a special envoy in the PMO marks the beginning of new power equations there.
As per indications, Mr Saran, in his new advisory role, will be directly reporting to the PM and could be as important a player, if not more, as the national security advisor MK Narayanan.
With the US Congress in an advanced stage of clearing the Indo-US nuclear deal, the PM is evidently keen that Mr Saran, who played an important role in framing the deal, stays on as a key man during its execution too. It remains to be seen whether Mr Saran will play a role beyond his new brief in the days to come.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
