Manmohan will name a new Foreign Minister soon

On Board Air India One, Sept 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would appoint a new Foreign Minister on his return from his visit to Brazil and Cuba.

Speaking to journalists on board the special plane during the trip from Frankfurt to Brasilia, Dr Singh admitted there was a need for a full time Foreign Minister given the several foreign policy engagements India had.

''I will be back in India on September 18 and soon there will be a new Foreign Minister,'' he said.

Responding to a question, the Prime Minister said that the exercise would be limited to the appointment of a new Foreign Minister and would not be a full-fledged cabinet reshuffle.

There has been no full-fledged Foreign Minister since November last year when Mr Natwar Singh was divested of the portfolio after his name figured in the Volcker Committee Repoort on Iraq's 'Oil-for Food' scam. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been holding charge as Foreign Minister since then.

UNI