Shivshankar Menon

NEW DELHI: Shivshankar Menon, High Commissioner to Pakistan, has been appointed Foreign Secretary. He will assume office on October 1, an official announcement said on Thursday.

The incumbent, Shyam Saran, will be the Special Envoy for negotiations relating to the civilian nuclear agreement between India and the United States, the two-line official release added.

Mr. Menon, who supersedes 15 officers from the Indian Foreign Service, has had an illustrious career — having been Ambassador to Israel, High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to China.

"His is a welcome appointment, notwithstanding the number of people he supersedes," a senior South Block official told this correspondent. Mr. Menon will have a tenure of nearly three years — till July 2009.

The toss-up within the Government circles was whether to give a one-year extension to Mr. Saran or appoint Mr. Menon. In the end, the Manmohan Singh Government opted for the latter.

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