Vikram Mishri is the new foreign secretary of India. He took over on Monday as the successor of Vinay Koetra. Vikram, a 1989-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has held the post of Deputy National Security Advisor since 2022. Known as the 'China expert' in diplomatic circles, Vikram served as India's ambassador to Beijing from 2019-2021. Vikram played a key role in de-escalating tensions at the diplomatic level along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) following the death of 20 Indian soldiers in an encounter with Chinese forces infiltrating the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15, 2020. Vikram was born in 1964 in a Kashmiri Hindu family in Srinagar. Studied at Scindia School, Gwalior and Delhi University. He has the rare experience of working as personal secretary to three Prime Ministers of the country - IK Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi. Apart from China, Vikram has also held the charge of Indian Ambassador to Spain and Myanmar. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Ranveer Jaiswal on Monday wrote on the X handle, "Foreign Minister S Jaishankar congratulated the new Foreign Secretary on a successful tenure."
New foreign secretary Vikram Mishri, ‘bird’s eye’ to face Chinese ‘challenge’
