Proud to follow in Sushma Swaraj's footsteps: Foreign Minister Jaishankar
NEW DELHI: S Jaishankar, who assumed office as the new External Affairs Minister on Friday, has said that he was proud to be following in 'Sushma Swaraj-ji' footsteps.
"My first tweet. Thank you all for the best wishes! Honoured to be given this responsibility. Proud to follow on the footsteps of @SushmaSwaraj ji," tweeted S Jaishankar.
The 1977-batch IFS officer served as a foreign secretary from 2015 - 2018 under the Sushma Swaraj ministry. He has extensive experience dealing with bilateral issues all the way back from the 1980s when he served as Under Secretary (Americas) and Policy Planning in the ministry of external affairs headquarters between 1981 and 1985. A graduate of St Stephen's College, Jaishankar has an MA in Political Science and an MPhil and PhD in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
A major focus of the External Affairs ministry under Jaishankar's leadership is likely to be on further boosting India's trade and defence ties with the US, Russia, France, Japan and the European Union as well as with the countries of the neighbourhood. As the world is brewing with the US - China trade war, Iran sanction issues, and US trade deficit with India, Jaishankar seems to be the right choice to pick up the baton to lead India on the global front.