Vinay Mohan Kwatra

His Excellency
Vinay Mohan Kwatra
IFS
Kwatra in November 2022
29th Ambassador of India to the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 August 2024[1]
PresidentDroupadi Murmu
Preceded byTaranjit Singh Sandhu
34th Foreign Secretary of India
In office
1 May 2022 – 14 July 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
MinisterS. Jaishankar
Preceded byHarsh Vardhan Shringla[2]
Succeeded byVikram Misri
25th Ambassador of India to Nepal
In office
March 2020 – April 2022
Preceded byManjeev Singh Puri
Succeeded byNaveen Srivastava
24th Ambassador of India to France
In office
July 2017 – February 2020
Preceded byDr. Mohan Kumar
Succeeded byJawed Ashraf
Personal details
Born (1962-12-15) 15 December 1962
India
SpousePooja
Children2 sons
EducationM.Sc
Alma materG. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
OccupationIndian Foreign Service
ProfessionDiplomat
RankSecretary

Vinay Mohan Kwatra (born 15 December 1962) is an Indian diplomat of Indian Foreign Service who served as the 34th Foreign Secretary of India, from May 2022 until July 2024[3][4] and is currently serving as Ambassador of India to the United States.[5][6] Previously, he has served as the Ambassador of India to France and Nepal.[7]

Early life and education

Vinay Mohan Kwatra was born on 15 December 1962.[8] He holds a degree of B Sc Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (Hons.) from G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, and Master's in Science (M.Sc.).[9][10] Kwatra speaks French, Hindi and English. He has also obtained a diploma in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.[11]

Career

He has previously served at Ministry of External Affairs, India and Prime Minister's Office as Joint Secretary. He has also served as Minister (Commerce) at the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. from May 2010 to July 2013. Between July 2013 and October 2015, Mr. Kwatra headed the Policy Planning & Research Division of the Ministry of External Affairs and later served as the head of the Americas Division in the Foreign Ministry where he dealt with India's relations with the United States and Canada.[12] He has served at different positions in many of India's missions abroad and in India. Kwatra holds an experience of nearly 32 years in a range of assignments and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1988.

Foreign Secretary

On 4 April 2022, it was announced that Mr. Kwatra will succeed Harsh Vardhan Shringla to assume the post of the Foreign Secretary of India upon the latter's superannuation of the post on 30 April 2022.[13] On 1 May, he became the 34th Foreign Secretary of India and was succeeded by Vikram Misri on 14 July 2024.[14][15]

Ambassador to the United States

On 12 August 2024, Kwatra succeeded Taranjit Singh Sandhu as the Ambassador of India to the United States of America. During his tenure, Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th President of the United States. The Ambassador, together with officials of the Embassy, focused on strengthening bilateral relations between India and the United States.[16] Subsequently, following the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, India carried out Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. Although hostilities later ceased, the cessation was not formally confirmed by the Government of India, amid reports of pressure from the United States, particularly President Trump. In an interview with CNN, he referred to the perpetrators of the attack and Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in strongly critical terms, describing them as "lowlifes" and "subhuman monsters," which drew widespread attention.[17][18][19][20]

Thereafter, the United States imposed a 25% tariff along with an additional 25% penalty tariff on India, citing its purchase of Russian oil. New regulatory measures concerning H-1B visas were also introduced, adversely affecting Indian professionals working in the United States.[21][22]

While the PM Modi maintained a firm position, in January 2026 President Trump reduced the tariff on India to 18%, making it lower than those applied to Pakistan and China.[23][24][25] Throughout these developments, Ambassador Kwatra played a significant role in maintaining engagement and restoring confidence in India–US relations. Ultimately, India and the United States came close to finalizing a comprehensive trade agreement.[26][27]

Personal life

He is married to Pooja Kwatra. The couple has two sons.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ambassador Vinay Kwatra". Embassy of India, Washington DC. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  2. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (4 April 2022). "Former PMO official Vinay Kwatra to be next Foreign Secretary". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed India's new Foreign Secretary: Government". The Hindu. PTI. 4 April 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra takes charge as new foreign secretary | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. PTI. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra Takes Charge As India's Ambassador To US". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  6. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (19 July 2024). "Former Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra named new Indian Ambassador to the U.S, to take charge soon". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  7. ^ "India picks Vinay Mohan Kwatra as its new ambassador to Nepal". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  8. ^ "WHO IS VINAY MOHAN KWATRA?". Business Standard India. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra : कौन हैं देश के नए विदेश सचिव विनय मोहन क्वात्रा, पंत विवि से रहा है गहरा नाता". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  10. ^ Rastogi, Manthan (10 April 2022). "गर्व के पल: पंतनगर यूनिवर्सिटी के छात्र रहे विनय मोहन क्वात्रा होंगे देश के नए विदेश सचिव". Uttarakhand News. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra, India's ambassador to Nepal, to take over from Shringla as Foreign Secretary". indianexpress.com. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra, India's Ambassador To Nepal, To Be New Foreign Secretary". NDTV.com. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra announced as the new foreign secretary". Hindustan Times. 4 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Vinay Mohan Kwatra takes charge as new Foreign Secretary". The Hindu. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Vikram Misri named India's next foreign secretary, who is he?". Firstpost. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Indian Ambassador to US Vinay Mohan Kwatra expresses gratitude to 56th Speaker of US House of Representatives Mike Johnson". News on Air. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  17. ^ Haidar, Suhasini. "'We are at war with terrorists': Indian Ambassador to U.S. Vinay Kwatra". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United States of America". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  19. ^ ""Trade Deal With US New Economic Pillar": India's Washington Envoy To NDTV". NDTV. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  20. ^ "India‑Pakistan tension after attack; terrorists, says Vinay Kwatra". Business Standard. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  21. ^ "US imposes 50 percent tariff on India over Russian oil purchases". Al Jazeera. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Indian envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra discusses 'common interests', bilateral ties with top US diplomat". The Economic Times. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  23. ^ "How India‑US ties evolved amid trade and geopolitical tensions". BBC News. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Trump, India Trade Deal Compared With Europe‑India Pact". CNBC. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Trump says US to cut tariffs on India to 18% as part of trade deal". Reuters. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  26. ^ "India-US trade deal: Hope and uncertainty as Trump cuts tariffs". www.bbc.com. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  27. ^ "How India reached biggest trade breakthrough with US; envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra reveals". India Today. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  28. ^ "Ambassador of India H.E. Vinay Mohan Kwatra". Embassy of India, Paris. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
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