As Deputy NSA, what Vikram Misri will bring to the table

New Delhi, Dec 28: Vikram Misri, an officer of the Indian Foreign Services. has been appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat.

Misri had served as the envoy to China till December 11. The current envoy to China is Pradeep Kumar Rawat. Misri, a 1989 batch of the IFS had served as India's Ambassador to Myanmar and Spain. He was appointed as the Ambassador to Beijing in 2019. His posting in China was a crucial one considering the tensions along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.

He has held several rounds of talks with China following the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020 which resulted in casualties on both sides. Misri has also served at the Ministry of External Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office.

He was the private secretary to former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh from 2012 to 2014. He continued in the post after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014. He also served as the the Private Secretary to PM Modi between May and July 2014. He was the Private Secretary to then Prime Minister, I K Gujarat.

Misri was born in Srinagar and attended the Scindia School before graduating from Delhi's Hindi College. He holds an MBA degree also and prior to joining civil services, he worked in ad-film making and advertising for three years.

Misri will report to National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. The other two Deputy NSAs are Rajinder Khanna and Datta Pandsalgikar. Misri comes in place of Pankaj Saran who demits office on December 31 2021. Saran was a former envoy to Russia.

Misri is credited with keeping the communication lines open with China when tensions were extremely high. He also took a firm stance during an interview following the Galwan Valley clash. He had said that peace on the border was necessary for progress in the remainder of the bilateral relationship.

He is an expert at negotiations and his experience of the same with China would be crucial during his stint as Deputy NSA. Both India and China have been in talks for a complete withdrawal along the NSA.

However the two sides have not yet managed to iron out issues completely as yet. Misri would play a crucial role in any further negotiations with China.

The foreign minister of China, Wang Yi gave Misri a virtual farewell on December 7. During the farewell Yi praised Misri for his hard work during his stint in Beijing. During his time in Beijing, Misri organised PM Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was also in charge of the detailing with the Chinese government apart from coordinating during the pandemic.