Anurag Srivastava to succeed Raveesh Kumar as MEA spokesperson: Sources

Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is likely to be succeeded by Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Anurag Srivastava in an announcement that is likely to be made on Friday, March 6.

Anurag Srivastava is currently the Indian ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union. Anurag Srivastava is from Indian Foreign Service (IFS) batch 1999.

Before taking up his assignment as ambassador to Ethiopia, he headed the Finance Division of MEA which is tasked to administer the ministry’s annual budget of about US $2 billion. Srivastava has also headed the political wing at the Indian High Commission in Colombo. 

Earlier, Ambassador of India to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, he had been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Djibouti, with residence in Addis Ababa.

Moreover, Srivastava has earlier served at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in Geneva where he dealt with work related to human rights, refugee issues and trade policy. He has held different positions in the Foreign Office in New Delhi, including in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran Division and in the Official Spokesperson’s Office.

Ambassador Srivastava has degrees in engineering and business management followed by a brief stint in the corporate sector before joining the Foreign Service. He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Oxford, UK.

(With ANI inputs)