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| Shiv Shankar Menon new Foreign Secy | | |
New Delhi, Aug 31: Seasoned diplomat and India`s High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon was today appointed as the new Foreign Secretary succeeding Shyam Saran who will be Special Envoy for negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear agreement.
A 1972-batch IFS officer, Menon will take charge of his new assignment on October one. He supersedes a number of foreign service officials.
Holding a Masters in History from Delhi University, 57-year-old Menon will have a nearly three-year tenure.
During his diplomatic career, he has served in China, Israel, Austria, Japan and Sri Lanka. He also had a stint in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) as an Adviser.
Contrary to speculation that he is being given a year`s extention, Saran will relinquish office on September 30 after holding the key post for about two years.
An official announcement said that Saran would be a special envoy for negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
As Foreign Secretary he has been at the helm of affairs in the tough negotiations with US interlocutors on the civil nuclear deal.
Menon was here when the announcement was made and left for Islamabad immediately thereafter. He will be back in Delhi towards the end of September to take up his new assignment.
Menon, who has served in the crucial Pakistan division of the External Affairs Ministry for several years, was appointed as envoy in Islamabad at a critical time when the relations between the two countries were at a low.
He is credited with playing a stellar role in rejuvenating the relations and lending impetus to the peace process.
Menon has been a key votary of people-to-people contacts between the two neighbours and has pursued this objective vigorously.
His stint in Beijing was also significant as it marked improvement in Sino-India relations, the high point being the visit of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In the new assignment, one of the critical tasks for Menon will be to ensure completion of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal and its implementation.
Revival of the intensity of the Indo-Pak dialogue process, which has witnessed a virtual freeze since the July 11 Mumbai blasts, will also be a major challenge for the New Foreign Secretary.
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