New Delhi [India], January 9 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed birthday wishes to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, acknowledging his decades of public service and his role in shaping India's foreign policy and international engagement.

In a post on social media platform X, the Prime Minister said, 'Best wishes to Dr. S. Jaishankar Ji on his birthday. He has served the nation as a distinguished diplomat and is now playing a key role in strengthening India's foreign policy and ties with the world. Praying for his long and healthy life.'

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/2009460574493790677?s=20

Jaishankar, born on January 9, 1955, in New Delhi, is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been serving as the country's External Affairs Minister since 2019.

Before entering electoral politics, he spent over four decades in the diplomatic service. He served as Foreign Secretary from 2015 to 2018 and undertook several major diplomatic assignments, including as India's Ambassador to China from 2009 to 2013 and to the United States from 2013 to 2015.

He hails from a Tamil family. His father, Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam, was a well-known bureaucrat and analyst of strategic affairs.

Jaishankar pursued his schooling in New Delhi and Bengaluru, completed his graduation from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, and later earned advanced degrees in Political Science and International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977.

Following his retirement from the Indian Foreign Service in 2018, Jaishankar had a brief stint in the private sector before being inducted into the Union Cabinet. He assumed office as External Affairs Minister in May 2019 and was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat as a BJP nominee. (ANI)