Centre Nominates Ex Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra As US Ambassador To Secure Ties

The government has nominated retired diplomat Vinay Kwatra as its next ambassador to the US, months before the country heads to a pivotal election, according to people familiar with the matter.

Vinay Kwatra, who retired as India's foreign secretary earlier this month, will look to bring certainty to the India-US relationship as countries brace for a possible change in administration after November's US elections. An immediate priority of Mr Kwatra's will be to reach out to officials who could play an important role in India-related policy in the next administration, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

India and the US have been growing closer for the past two decades, including under the previous Trump and current Biden administration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former president Donald Trump shared a good rapport and held a joint rally in the US in 2019.

Mr Kwatra, a career diplomat, has previously served in China, the US, in PM Modi's office and as India's envoy to France before his tenure as the top bureaucrat in the foreign ministry. The position of India's ambassador to the US has been vacant since Taranjit Singh Sandhu completed his tenure in January.

Ministry of External Affairs didn't comment when asked about the appointment. An announcement is expected soon after formalities in the US are complete, the people said.

India-US ties have strengthened under PM Modi, with India seeing the US as a partner in standing up to a more assertive China. At the same time, India has pursued a foreign policy much in line with its decades-old stance of not aligning too closely with any great power. India has, for example, maintained its long-standing ties with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine, with PM Modi visiting Moscow earlier this month.

The US-India relationship has a strong business and geopolitical logic behind it but needs constant nurturing especially with any new administration, the people familiar said.