For the first time in the history of Independent India, a formal event was held here to mark the creation of Indian Foreign Service, the elite cadre of diplomats.
All IFS officers currently posted in Delhi -- from probationers to former foreign secretaries -- gathered at Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai’s residence in Lutyen’s Delhi for a get-together on Tuesday evening.
According to MEA officials, this was the first time that a Foreign Secretary had hosted a formal event to mark the IFS Day.
Last year, a few junior IFS officers had organised a small informal event on the IFS Day at the ministry’s housing complex in Chanakyapuri. However, Mathai had to skip the function as he was in Sri Lanka on his first official foreign trip as Foreign Secretary.
On Tuesday, Mathai read out the extracts from the Cabinet note, which was passed on October 9, 1946, describing the conceptual foundation of the foreign service.
He was reading out a publication of India’s first Foreign Secretary K P S Menon. Interestingly, Menon’s grandson and former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon (National Security Advisor) was present at the function along with former FS Shyam Saran. Mathai told the gathering that the role of diplomacy was “changing” and they were likely to face greater challenge in the future. And the Foreign Secretary called on to the stage the oldest IFS official, former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, and the youngest officer present at the function. “It was a good opportunity for us to meet other members, as we hardly get a time to interact with each other due to our schedule,” said an MEA official.
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