Vinay Kwatra.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Former Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra was on Friday appointed as India's ambassador to the United States.
"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The post of India's envoy to the US has been lying vacant since Taranjit Sandhu retired in January.
Kwatra served as the foreign secretary from May 1, 2022, to July 14, 2024.
Kwatra joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1988 and served in India's Permanent Mission in Geneva in the initial years of his service.
Between 1993 and 2003, he served as a desk officer at the external affairs ministry's headquarters in Delhi dealing with the United Nations, and subsequently in the diplomatic missions in South Africa and Uzbekistan.
From 2003 to 2006, he served as the counsellor and later as the deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Beijing.
From 2006 to 2010, he represented India at the SAARC Secretariat in Nepal as head of the trade, economy and finance bureau. From May 2010 till July 2013, he served as minister (commerce) in the Indian embassy in Washington.
Kwatra headed the policy planning and research division in the ministry between July 2013 and October 2015 and later served as the head of the Americas division.
From October 2015 till August 2017, he served as the joint secretary in the office of the prime minister.
From August 2017 to February 2020, he was the ambassador to France and from March 2020 to April 2022, he served as the ambassador to Nepal.