Senior diplomat Gopal Baglay was on Monday appointed Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry succeeding Vikas Swarup, who was made India's new high commissioner to Canada.
A 1992-batch officer of Indian Foreign Service, Baglay was handling the sensitive PAI (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran) division in the ministry till now. Deepak Mittal is the new in-charge of the PAI division.
"Delighted to take over as Official Spokesperson. Hope to have your cooperation in continuing the high traditions set by my predecessors," Baglay tweeted.
Apart from Spokesperson, his designation would also be Joint Secretary External Publicity (XP).
"I wish my successor Gopal Baglay all the best for the new assignment. He will take MEA communications to the next level, online & offline!
"Today I bid farewell as the Official Spokesperson, an extraordinary privilege and honour! You can follow me in my new role on @VikasSwarup," Swarup tweeted while handing over the charge to Baglay.
Baglay has held many key positions including Director, XP, Director PAI and Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Mittal, who joined the IFS in 1998, has since served in Bangladesh, Egypt and Israel in various capacities and as Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. His last position was as Joint Secretary in CPV (Consular, Passport and Visa) division.
