Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been appointed as the next Indian ambassador to the United States of America (USA), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday. “Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United States of America. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the MEA said in a statement. Kwatra who earlier served as India’s foreign secretary will succeed Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Kwatra has served as the 34th Foreign Secretary of India and retired as India's foreign secretary earlier in July, and was slated to retire on April 30 but was extended to October. Kwatra, an Indian Foreign Services officer from the 1988 batch, has taken over the position which has been left vacant after Taranjit Sandu, retired in January 2024.

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Kwatra has also contributed to the MEA's India development initiative in Afghanistan. According to Business Standard, Kwatra is proficient in Hindi, English, French, and Russian and holds a master's degree in science. He also holds a diploma in international relations from the Geneva Graduate School of International Studies.

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Kwatra served as the minister of commerce at the Indian embassy in Washington from May 2010 to July 2013. Kwetra headed the MEA's policy planning and research division and the foreign ministry's Americas division from July 2013 to October 2015. He had also served as the prime minister's office joint secretary from 2015 until 2017.