Kwatra takes charge as foreign secy, Srivastava to be Nepal envoy
NEW DELHI: With Vinay Mohan Kwatra taking over as India’s 34th foreign secretary on Sunday, China expert Naveen Srivastava is tipped to succeed him as India’s next ambassador to Nepal. Srivastava, presently additional secretary handling the East Asia desk in ministry of external affairs, is the man who has been an integral part of India-China military commanders’ meeting to defuse the situation in eastern Ladakh after People’s Liberation Army transgressed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in May 2020.
While Srivastava, a 1993 batch IFS officer, will handle the sensitive relations with Nepal, there is a strong possibility of his batch mate Sudhakar Dalela, presently deputy chief of mission in Washington, to be appointed as ambassador to Bhutan. Incumbent Ruchira Kamboj is expected to take over as India’s permanent envoy to UN after T S Tirumurti attains superannuation in June 2022.
Dalela has handled Bhutan as desk-incharge in the ministry before being posted to Washington, and was the man who fought the diplomatic battle during the 2017 Doklam crisis precipitated by an aggressive PLA in tri-junction area on the Siliguri corridor.
Although the Narendra Modi government is still to take a call on key ambassadorial postings, it is expected that India’s ambassador to Japan, Sanjay Kumar Verma, will proceed to Canada to replace Ajay Bisaria after the latter attains superannuation. There is no word on who will replace Indian envoy to the UK, Gaitri Issar Kumar, who also retires in June 2022 as the government is said to be examining options outside the external affairs ministry.
Given the Chinese Communist Party influence on Nepalese polity through power and pelf, Srivastava will have a tough time countering the narrative from Beijing, with the Himalayan republic playing on both sides for optimum advantage.
However, the Chinese grip on Kathmandu has loosened after the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister and the split within the Maoist-Communist movement in the nation during the time when Vinay Kwatra was ambassador to Nepal.