Vijay Keshav Gokhale takes over as foreign secretary

New Delhi: Senior diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale, who played a crucial role from the Indian side in diplomatic efforts towards the resolution of the Sino-Indian military stand-off at Doklam last year, on Monday took over as India’s new foreign secretary, succeeding S. Jaishankar who completed his tenure on January 28. Mr Gokhale’s appointment had been cleared on January 1 by the appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prior to taking over, Mr Gokhale was the secretary (economic relations) in the MEA. He is a 1981 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service. He had served earlier as ambassador in China among other important postings.

Mr Gokhale’s predecessor, Mr Jaishankar, had been appointed foreign secretary three years ago in January 2015.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, “An early morning start! Mr Vijay Gokhale, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1981 batch, took over as foreign secretary of India today morning.”

The new foreign secretary will have his hands full, dealing with a complex South Asian environment at a time when China is making inroads into various Saarc countries. But Mr Gokhale has the necessary experience in dealing with the Chinese dragon, having served as an envoy in Beijing.

His efforts towards the Doklam issue resolution that yielded fruit eventually was proof of this experience. Mr. Gokhale has also assumed charge at a time when relations with Pakistan are at an all-time low. While ties with the US are strong, relations with Moscow will be another tricky turf, with Russia softening its position on Pakistan considerably in recent times as it perceives that New Delhi and old rival Washington are drawing closer.