Gourangalal Das likely to be new envoy to Taiwan

Gourangalal Das, who hails from Assam’s Barpeta district, is to be the next envoy to Taipei. The decision will provide a boost to the ties of India and Taiwan amid China tensions.

New Delhi:Gourangalal Das, joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs who was handling the Indo-US relations is likely to be appointed as the new envoy to Taiwan. The decision will help boost the ties of India and Taiwan amid China tensions, sources said.

As per reports, Das who hails from Assam’s Barpeta district was in Indian foreign service 1999 batch is fluent in Mandarin, stayed in Beijing between 2001 and 2004. He returned as First Secretary (Political) in 2006 and stayed there till 2009.

Das also served in the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Office as a Deputy Secretary handling External Affairs. He played a key role as a counsellor at the Indian embassy during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump in 2017.

He was assigned to set up the Contemporary Chinese Studies Centre by foreign secretary S Jaishankar to study China post-Doklam.

During his stint as joint secretary (Americas), Indo-US ties grew, including the revival of the Quadrilateral mechanism (between India, US, Japan and Australia).

Das's appointment as an envoy to Taipei comes after Meenakshi Lekhi and Rahul Kaswan, two BJP MPs attended the swearing-in ceremony of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on May 20, a fortnight after the start of the Indi-China standoff on the Line of Actual Control.

Earlier there were no diplomatic relations between India and Taiwan because of Taipei's "One China policy" according to which there will one sovereign state under the name China.

However, there is an office in Taipei which operates in the name of India-Taipei association and Das will be its new Director-General. In exchange east Asian and Pacific affairs Director-General, Baushuan Ger will serve as Taiwan's new representative to India.