S Jaishankar, Architect of Narendra Modi's Foreign Policy, Indo-US Nuclear Deal Retires Today

Outgoing Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has been the chief architect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aggressive foreign policy
Jaishankar played key role in signing Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Jaishankar negotiated Depsang incursion and Doklam stand-off with China. Jaishankar retires after longest stint as foreign secretary in four decades
by Prabhash K Dutta
The revised Assomption Island treaty, signed yesterday, between India and Seychelles was the last official assignment of Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who retires today after a three-year stint. He served as the foreign secretary of India for the longest time since Kewal Singh, who retired in 1976.
S Jaishankar is credited with building the much talked about "aggressive" foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government. He is known to work on assignments almost silently giving more eloquent prime minister opportunity to hog the limelight on foreign policy.
His tenure, including the extension of one year saw a transformation in the working of the ministry of external affairs, which has five officials of secretary rank. The foreign secretary used to be seen as first among equals till not long ago but Jaishankar's diplomatic versatility and political faith shown in him by the Narendra Modi government changed that equation. Now, the foreign secretary is above equals.
Jaishankar has had excellent working relations with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who has been instrumental in changing the face of her ministry - from a bland engagement with the world to a more humane conversation with people around the globe.
MODI AND JAISHANKAR

Enjoying complete trust of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, outgoing Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar worked with greater freedom in the ministry
Jaishankar enjoyed tremendous trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and handled his diplomatic engagements personally. He was entrusted with the planning of PM Modi's foreign visits and nuancing India's stand on key issues even if they fell under other secretaries.
PM Modi used to have Jaishankar present in meetings with his counterparts. On several occasions, Jaishankar travelled to key countries to prepare for PM Modi's visits. His early arrival in those countries would give a clear signal to their leadership that India was serious about the issues to be discussed.
In many ways, Jaishankar functioned as foreign affairs advisor to PM Modi. The fact that he had great rapport with Sushma Swaraj helped him work with greater freedom and authority in the external affairs ministry.
CAREER AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JAISHANKAR
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