Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India
Background
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar serves as India’s Minister of External Affairs and is the country’s chief cabinet official for foreign policy and diplomatic relations. In this role, he represents the Indian government in dealings with foreign states and multilateral bodies, including regular engagement with Russian officials on issues such as regional security and international crises. His position makes him one of the principal Indian interlocutors for Russian diplomacy, given the breadth of India-Russia contacts across political, strategic, and global affairs.
Born in Delhi in 1955, Jaishankar studied at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and later completed graduate work in political science and international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, including an M.Phil. and PhD. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977 and spent more than 38 years as a diplomat in India and abroad. His overseas postings included service as ambassador to the Czech Republic, high commissioner to Singapore, ambassador to China, and ambassador to the United States, and he also served as joint secretary (Americas) in the Ministry of External Affairs. He became foreign secretary of India from 2015 to 2018, then briefly worked in corporate affairs with the Tata Group before entering cabinet politics in 2019.
Jaishankar has been closely associated with major phases of Indian foreign policy, especially the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement, in which he was involved while serving in the foreign policy bureaucracy. After retiring from the foreign service in 2018, he entered elected politics as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and later became a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament. He was appointed minister of external affairs in May 2019 and returned to the post in 2024, becoming the first former foreign secretary to head the ministry as a cabinet minister. He has also been the Indian official publicly linked to discussions on regional de-escalation and international coordination, including consultations with Russia on the Iran situation through formats such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS.
Timeline
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar discussed the Iran situation in a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
On the Telephone Conversation Between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India S. JaishankarSubrahmanyam Jaishankar backed SCO and BRICS efforts aimed at de-escalation and a sustainable settlement on Iran.
On the Telephone Conversation Between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India S. Jaishankar
Documents
On the Telephone Conversation Between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India S. Jaishankar
Lavrov and Indian FM Jaishankar discussed the Iran situation in a phone call, backing SCO and BRICS efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable settlement.