Foreign Secretary Jaishankar gets another extension

New Delhi, Jan 23
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, whose tenure was scheduled to end on January 28, has been given a second extension of his term by one year, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet said in a notification on Monday.

According to the notification, Jaishankar's term has been extended from January 29, 2017 until January 28, 2018.

Jaishankar, a 1977-batch IFS officer and who is widely known to have the ear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was appointed Foreign Secretary on January 29, 2015, a couple of days before his retirement, replacing Sujatha Singh, who resigned in protest seven months before her date of superannuation.

Jaishankar is known for his proximity to both Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his experience of having served as Ambassador in China and the US stands him in good stead.

With Donald Trump taking over as the US President, Jaishankar's experience will be invaluable in dealing with the new administration. He has already been to Washington and met key members of the Trump transition team prior to the US presidential inauguration on January 20.

Jaishankar, a known workaholic who, according to insiders, often sleeps in night on his office couch, has been an astute articulator of the Modi foreign policy vision.