Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar gets 1-year extension, likely to focus on ties with US, China

File image of S Jaishankar. CNN-News18[/caption]According to the notification, Jaishankar's term has been extended from 29 January 2017 until 28 January 2018.Jaishankar, a 1977-batch IFS officer and who is widely known to have the ear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was appointed Foreign Secretary on 29 January 2015, a couple of days before his retirement, replacing Sujatha Singh, who resigned in protest seven months before her date of superannuation.Jaishankar is known for his proximity to both Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his experience of having served as Ambassador in China and the US stands him in good stead.With Donald Trump taking over as the US president, Jaishankar's experience will be invaluable in dealing with the new administration. He has already been to Washington and met key members of the Trump transition team prior to the US presidential inauguration on January 20.Jaishankar, a known workaholic who, according to insiders, often sleeps in night on his office couch, has been an astute articulator of the Modi foreign policy vision.