Anurag Srivastava likely to replace Raveesh as MEA spokesperson

NEW DELHI: Anurag Srivastava, currently India’s envoy to Ethiopia and the African Union, is expected to replace Raveesh Kumar as the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, people familiar with developments said on Friday.

Kumar, who has served as the public face of the external affairs ministry since August 2017, is expected to get an ambassadorial assignment in Europe, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. Srivastava, who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1999, has had an earlier stint in the spokesperson’s office, also known as the XP (external publicity) division. He was appointed the ambassador in Ethiopia in 2016.

Before that, he headed the political wing of the Indian mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was closely involved in implementing India’s development assistance projects in the island nation. He also served India’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva, where he dealt with human rights, refugees and trade policy, and on the crucial Pakistan-afghanistan-iran desk. He also had a brief stint in the corporate sector before joining the IFS.

Kumar, who joined the IFS in 1995, has played a key role in handling the fallout of tensions with Pakistan following last year’s suicide attack in Pulwama by the Jaish-e-mohammed, the government’s changes in Jammu and Kashmir and the National Register of Citizens and Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Before becoming the spokesperson, Kumar served as consul general in Frankfurt, Germany, and has had stints at the Indian missions in Indonesia, Bhutan and the UK. He has also served on the East Asia desk.