Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NEWDELHI317
2009-02-19 13:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:
MEERA SHANKAR SLATED AS NEXT INDIAN ENVOY TO
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000317
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2010
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IN
SUBJECT: MEERA SHANKAR SLATED AS NEXT INDIAN ENVOY TO
WASHINGTON
Classified By: Political Counselor Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B and D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000317
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2010
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IN
SUBJECT: MEERA SHANKAR SLATED AS NEXT INDIAN ENVOY TO
WASHINGTON
Classified By: Political Counselor Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B and D)
1. (SBU) Media reported on February 19 that the GOI has
selected the Indian Ambassador to Germany Meera Shankar as
the next Indian Ambassador to Washington. The same stories
also reported that MEA Special Secretary Sharat Sabharwal
will go to Islamabad to replace Satyabrata Pal, who is due to
retire at the end of this month. MEA Joint Secretary Gaitri
Kumar confirmed to PolCouns that the GOI has sought agrement
from Washington for Shankar's appointment.
2. (SBU) The selection of these two envoys represents a
departure from existing policy, which was to defer such
appointments until a new government is in place after the
April-May parliamentary elections. It appears that Foreign
Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also acting Prime Minister,
felt that these posts were too important to lie vacant for
long, especially at this time of regional tension, a new
Administration in Washington and international financial
turmoil.
A Classical Nehruvian Bureaucrat
---
3. (C) Meera Shankar would be the second female Indian
Ambassador to the United States - the first was Nehru's
sister Vijay Lakshmi Pandit in the 1950s. According to
political contacts, Shankar is seen as the "consensus choice"
of the MEA and the Congress Party's political leadership.
Shankar is a career member of the Indian Foreign Service and
is highly regarded among her Foreign Service colleagues. MEA
Joint Secretary (Americas) Gaitri Kumar told PolCouns that
Shankar's appointment was "too good to be true," noting that
her close ties to 10 Janpath (i.e., Sonia Gandhi) and range
of diplomatic experience would help to advance the bilateral
relationship. The Embassy worked closely with her from
2003-2005 on the strategic issues dialogues that would later
become the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP). She
was seen as a consummate professional as well as a realist
who kept a tight focus on where India's interests lay
vis-a-vis the U.S.
4. (C) There are varying views of Shankar among Delhi's
foreign policy chattering classes. She is viewed by many as
articulate and straightforward, but embodying the "classical
Nehruvian" foreign policy perspectives which resist close
embraces with any of the great powers and seek Indian
leadership in the developing world. Hindustan Times Senior
Editor Pramit Pal Chaudhari observed that she is a "standard
member" of the Indian Foreign Service establishment, "a
hardworking, silent doer who follows what the MEA dictates."
Chaudhari believes that she is a lackluster choice for the
Washington post, noting that an "independent, innovative and
high profile" diplomat would have been a better choice to
work with the Obama Administration. Other contacts
highlighted Shankar's diplomatic credentials and her "strong
consensual and very knowledgeable" approach to resolving
heated disputes. Sanjay Kapoor, Editor of HardNews, pointed
out that she was one of the GOI officials who initiated the
Indo-Pak composite dialogue on CBMs in 2004. In the wake of
2000 anti-India riots in Nepal, Shankar led bilateral
negotiations to calm tensions, he added.
Biographical Notes
---
5. (SBU) Meera Shankar is a senior member of the Indian
Foreign Service. Prior to her current assignment as the
Ambassador to Germany, she served as Additional Secretary
responsible for UN and International Security (2004-05) and
as Coordinator for Counterterrorism (2003-04) at MEA. She
also served as a Joint Secretary of Nepal-Bhutan and SAARC
divisions from 1997-2003 and was Director General of the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations from 1995-1998. From
1991-1995, she was Minister of Commercial Affairs at the
Indian Embassy in Washington. She had a long stint as a
NEW DELHI 00000317 002 OF 002
Director in the Prime Minister's Office (1985-1991). She is
married to Ajay Shankar, who is currently serving as
Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
MULFORD
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2010
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IN
SUBJECT: MEERA SHANKAR SLATED AS NEXT INDIAN ENVOY TO
WASHINGTON
Classified By: Political Counselor Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B and D)
1. (SBU) Media reported on February 19 that the GOI has
selected the Indian Ambassador to Germany Meera Shankar as
the next Indian Ambassador to Washington. The same stories
also reported that MEA Special Secretary Sharat Sabharwal
will go to Islamabad to replace Satyabrata Pal, who is due to
retire at the end of this month. MEA Joint Secretary Gaitri
Kumar confirmed to PolCouns that the GOI has sought agrement
from Washington for Shankar's appointment.
2. (SBU) The selection of these two envoys represents a
departure from existing policy, which was to defer such
appointments until a new government is in place after the
April-May parliamentary elections. It appears that Foreign
Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also acting Prime Minister,
felt that these posts were too important to lie vacant for
long, especially at this time of regional tension, a new
Administration in Washington and international financial
turmoil.
A Classical Nehruvian Bureaucrat
---
3. (C) Meera Shankar would be the second female Indian
Ambassador to the United States - the first was Nehru's
sister Vijay Lakshmi Pandit in the 1950s. According to
political contacts, Shankar is seen as the "consensus choice"
of the MEA and the Congress Party's political leadership.
Shankar is a career member of the Indian Foreign Service and
is highly regarded among her Foreign Service colleagues. MEA
Joint Secretary (Americas) Gaitri Kumar told PolCouns that
Shankar's appointment was "too good to be true," noting that
her close ties to 10 Janpath (i.e., Sonia Gandhi) and range
of diplomatic experience would help to advance the bilateral
relationship. The Embassy worked closely with her from
2003-2005 on the strategic issues dialogues that would later
become the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP). She
was seen as a consummate professional as well as a realist
who kept a tight focus on where India's interests lay
vis-a-vis the U.S.
4. (C) There are varying views of Shankar among Delhi's
foreign policy chattering classes. She is viewed by many as
articulate and straightforward, but embodying the "classical
Nehruvian" foreign policy perspectives which resist close
embraces with any of the great powers and seek Indian
leadership in the developing world. Hindustan Times Senior
Editor Pramit Pal Chaudhari observed that she is a "standard
member" of the Indian Foreign Service establishment, "a
hardworking, silent doer who follows what the MEA dictates."
Chaudhari believes that she is a lackluster choice for the
Washington post, noting that an "independent, innovative and
high profile" diplomat would have been a better choice to
work with the Obama Administration. Other contacts
highlighted Shankar's diplomatic credentials and her "strong
consensual and very knowledgeable" approach to resolving
heated disputes. Sanjay Kapoor, Editor of HardNews, pointed
out that she was one of the GOI officials who initiated the
Indo-Pak composite dialogue on CBMs in 2004. In the wake of
2000 anti-India riots in Nepal, Shankar led bilateral
negotiations to calm tensions, he added.
Biographical Notes
---
5. (SBU) Meera Shankar is a senior member of the Indian
Foreign Service. Prior to her current assignment as the
Ambassador to Germany, she served as Additional Secretary
responsible for UN and International Security (2004-05) and
as Coordinator for Counterterrorism (2003-04) at MEA. She
also served as a Joint Secretary of Nepal-Bhutan and SAARC
divisions from 1997-2003 and was Director General of the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations from 1995-1998. From
1991-1995, she was Minister of Commercial Affairs at the
Indian Embassy in Washington. She had a long stint as a
NEW DELHI 00000317 002 OF 002
Director in the Prime Minister's Office (1985-1991). She is
married to Ajay Shankar, who is currently serving as
Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
MULFORD