Vijay Gokhale’s appointment as foreign secretary was on expected lines
In January 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to appoint S. Jaishankar as his foreign sec-retary, there were ripples in babudom. Jaishankar, then ambassador to the US, was barely three months from retirement while the then foreign secretary Sujatha Singh’s term was to end only in August. A peeved Singh made way for Jaishankar, who had earned Modi’s trust with his successful handling of the prime minister’s maiden visit to the US. When Jaishankar’s two-year term ended, it was extended by another year.
When the appointments committee of the cabinet announced Vijay Gokhale as the next foreign secretary on January 1, there were no ripples. It was an expected appointment, as Gokhale was next in line. His role in helping defuse the Doklam standoff was a plus. Gokhale, as ambassador to China during the standoff, was one of the three diplomats (the others being Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval) whose adept handling helped resolve the situation.
Gokhale has the seniority, experience and track record. A 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, he has the advantage of being a China expert. Well versed in Mandarin, and having specialised in the region, he brings to the post an expertise that may be needed time and again.
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