S Jaishankar Retains External Affairs Ministry

S Jaishankar has been given the charge of External Affairs Ministery in the Modi cabinet on Monday. Jaishankar, 69, was among the senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman who retained the ministries they handled in the previous government.

New Delhi:Dealing with challenges arising out of China's bullying tactics along the frontier, protecting India's interest in view of the ongoing situation in West Asia and the conflict in Ukraine are expected to be the key priorities of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Jaishankar, 69, was among the senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman who retained the ministries they handled in the previous government.

"Deeply honoured to be appointed as the Minister of External Affairs in PM Narendra Modi's Government... Our commitment to Bharat First and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam will facilitate the making of a Vishwabandhu Bharat," the minister posted on X. He also welcomed newly appointed Ministers of State K V Singh and Pabitra Margherita to the Ministry.

"TeamMEA has worked over the last decade on a people-centric foreign policy," he said on X. As the external affairs minister since 2019, Jaishankar displayed with confidence his ability to clearly articulate India's positions on a range of complex issues on the global stage.

From blunting Western criticism of New Delhi's procurement of crude oil from Moscow in the wake of the war in Ukraine to crafting a firm policy approach to deal with an assertive China, Jaishankar emerged as one of the leading ministers with an impressive record of performance in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's previous government.

He has also been credited with managing to bring matters of foreign policy to domestic discourse, especially during India's presidency of the G20. Currently, he is a member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. Jaishankar served as India's foreign secretary under the first Modi government (2015-18) and the Ambassador to the United States (2013-15), China (2009-2013) and Czech Republic (2000-2004).

He was also India's high commissioner to Singapore (2007-2009). Jaishankar served in other diplomatic assignments in embassies in Moscow, Colombo, Budapest and Tokyo, as well in the Ministry of External Affairs and the President's Secretariat.