The External Affairs Ministry has announced that he will soon take up the key assignment in Washington DC. He was India’s ambassador to Nepal before being appointed foreign secretary.

Kwatra is known for his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to remain a key player in the strategic decision-making circle around the Prime Minister. 

Last month, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Shri Vikram Misri, Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat to the post of Foreign Secretary with effect from July 15.

Kwatra, who was to retire as FS in April, had been given an extension till October. However, this extension was cut short, as the Government planned to send him to Washington. This was reported earlier by The Secretariat.

Kwatra has previously served in China, the US, and even in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office. He also worked as India's envoy to France from August 2017 to February 2020, besides serving at the Indian consulate in Durban, China, and Russia.

The top diplomatic post has been lying vacant for the last 6 months since Tranjit Sandhu resigned as India’s ambassador in Washington DC to join politics.

The otherwise excellent relations between India and US, in the recent past, have seen some tension on account of accusations over the death of a Khalistani leader in Canada and India's bid for a nuanced position over the Ukraine war. However, both countries are members of the Quadrilateral alliance which advocates freedom of the seas, and have been conducting joint naval exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, much to the annoyance of Beijing.

It is expected that his long and varied experience in his career will help India and the US to draw yet closer.