Q.
What are the procedures which are followed in the appointment of ambassadors and other senior officers abroad?
A.
The procedures are not very well-defined. Seniority is taken lute account. The length of service in the country and outside previous experience of the region where one goes — all these are taken into account. The basic assessment is on the general feeling whether a person would do well in a particular country. The procedure is that the Foreign Secretary makes the proposal in consultation with his colleagues and thereafter puts it up for approval of the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister.
Q.
Do you advocate a "closed-door policy" for lateral entries into the Indian Foreign Service?
A.
No. I do not. I think in a big country like India, it must be open to the people having political or other experiences in public life to have an opportunity to represent India abroad. But this can be done without refusing proper opportunities to the career diplomatists.
Q.
What are the gains of personal diplomacy in international relations or of personal equations in foreign affairs? Could you give any illustrations of this?
A
It would be very difficult to give illustrations. But I am personally convinced that personal equation in diplomatic relationship is very important, as it removes inhibitions in dealing with one another. The relations have to be informal if they are to be more profitable. I remember when Brezhnev came to India how he explained to us in a half-hour rambling talk how important a lesson he had learnt when he first came to Moscow in his political career — the lesson being that personal relationship is very important to a career, particularly in foreign relations.