Taranjit Singh Sandhu takes charge as Indian Envoy to US

Senior Indian Foreign Service officer (IFS) Taranjit Singh Sandhu has taken charge as the Indian Ambassador to the United States on Tuesday. Sandhu received a warm welcome from Deputy Chief of Mission Amit Kumar and other officials. Sandhu took over from Harsh Vardhan Shringla who has been appointed as the Foreign Secretary.

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Former Ambassador to Sri Lanka

Prior to becoming the Ambassador to the US, Sandhu has been an ambassador to Sri Lanka. A 1988-batch IFS officer, Sandhu has served twice before at the Indian mission in the US. His appointment to the high-profile job comes at a critical time when the US-India strategic partnership is deepening and also tensions are simmering in the Gulf region after the US killed top Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad. 

India is looking at a trade pact with Washington and is readying for a visit by US President Donald Trump next month. Also, Indian and US officials are engaged in talks to finalise dates for a possible visit by US President Trump to India.

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Sandhu’s position in Colombo is expected to be filled by Gopal Baglay, presently as additional secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Shringla was appointed for the post of Foreign Secretary last month after replacing Vijay Gokhale who had completed two years in office. Shringla, the former Indian Ambassador to the United States has become the 33rd Foreign Secretary of India.

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Besides Sandhu, there have been several shifts. In other appointments, India’s high commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf will move to France as an ambassador while ambassador to Paris Vinay Kwatra shift to Nepal in the same rank. Ajay Bisaria, India’s former high commissioner to Pakistan, is expected to take up a similar assignment in Canada.

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(Photo: Indian Embassy in US | Twitter)