Diplomatic rejig: New Ambassadors to France, Nepal cleared

New Delhi, Jan 14: The appointment of 1991 batch IFS officer, Jawed Ashraf has been cleared by the Narendra Modi government as the next Ambassador to France.

He replaces, Vinay Kwatra, an 1988 batch IFS officer, who will be posted in Nepal. Kwatra is being sent as a replacement for Manjiv Puri.

This major rejig is aimed at further cementing strategic relations with France, which is a key ally of India's. The assignment for Kwatra would be a tough one since his posting is in Nepal. With a Communist regime and Kathmandu leaning towards China, the new Ambassador would have a tough task on hand.

The government would soon take a call on who would be the Ambassador to Washington. Harsh Srhingla, the current Ambassador to the US will take over as India's Foreign Secretary on January 29. T S Thirumurthy, Secretary MEA, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Ajay Besaria, the Indian Ambassadorto Pakistan are the front-runners.