Diplomat-turned-politician S Jaishankar assumes charge as External Affairs Minister

Dr.S Jaishankar today took charge as the External Affairs Minister a day after the Union Cabinet portfolios were announced for the second term. 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.
“It is an immense honour to be once again given the responsibility of leading the Ministry of External Affairs. In the last term, this ministry performed exceptionally well. We delivered the G20 presidency. We took on the challenges of Covid, including vaccine Maitri supplies. We were also the centre of crucial operations like Operation Ganga and Operation Kaveri. In the last decade, this ministry under the leadership of PM Modi has become a very people-centric ministry. You can see that in terms of our improved passport services, and community welfare fund support that we give to Indians abroad…,” S Jaishankar said.
Known for his sharpness and efficiency, Jaishankar has gained praise within India, especially from the youth, for his clear articulation of India’s foreign policy. His public speeches and interviews have become popular online.
Hours before his portfolio was even formally revealed, on June 11, he called on all seven of the neighborhood leaders who had been invited to attend PM Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. This was his second consecutive term in office. Jaishankar boldly articulated India’s position on difficult international problems during his first term in office. He has responded to criticism from the West on India’s oil imports from Russia and has devised a formidable strategy to deal with China.
Especially during India’s G20 leadership, he introduced global policy into domestic conversations. He now represents Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha. From 2015 until 2018, Jaishankar held the position of Foreign Secretary for India after enlisting in the Foreign Service of India in 1977.
In addition, he served as High Commissioner to Singapore and Ambassador to the United States, China, and the Czech Republic. He has served in the President’s Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs in addition to holding a number of diplomatic posts in Moscow, Colombo, Budapest, and Tokyo.
S. Jaishankar reaffirmed his belief that Modi 3.0’s foreign policy will be quite effective. He received the Padma Shri award in 2019 and is the author of the best-selling book ‘The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World’.
Jaishankar, who is now in charge of the Ministry of External Affairs for the second time in a row, stated, “It is an immense honour to be once again given the responsibility. In the last term, this ministry performed exceptionally well. We delivered the G20 presidency. We took on the challenges of COVID including, Vaccine Maitri supplies. We also were the centre of crucial operations like Operation Ganga and Operation Kaveri.”