Nirupama Rao is new foreign secretary

Nirupama Rao took today over as India's foreign secretary, succeeding Shivshankar Menon, at a brief ceremony in South Block.

Rao becomes the second woman to head the foreign office after Chokila Iyer, the first woman to serve as India's foreign secretary in 2001.

An Indian Foreign Service topper of the 1973 batch, Rao also was the first woman spokesperson of the external affairs ministry in 2001.

In her 36 years of diplomatic career, she had served as Indian envoy to Sri Lanka, ambassador to Peru and deputy chief of mission in Moscow and then as ambassador to China before returning to New Delhi.

"I have before me a complex and yet fascinating assignment. I strongly believe that our diplomacy and our diplomats play a vital role in promoting the national interest and safeguarding our national goals of development in an atmosphere of peace and security. Our diplomats today work with dedication and professionalism in some of the world's most challenging environments," said Rao

"Our foreign service counts among the best in the world. Today, in a rapidly evolving world situation, the task is to further augment our diplomatic and professional capabilities as we are called upon to play an even more prominent role in world affairs… This is an absorbing task and I look forward to it with great hope and optimism," she added.

Rao's tenure as foreign secretary will end in December 2010 when she retires from foreign service.