Officer trainees of Indian Foreign Service meet Pranab Mukherjee

A group of Officer Trainees of the Indian Foreign Service (2014 and 2015 batches) called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee today (April 6, 2016) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the Foreign Service is a unique opportunity to project our country's civilizational and cultural ethos along with its developmental aspirations to the rest of the world. A Foreign Service Officer is the spokesperson, interpreter and narrator of a country’s story to other countries. He told the officer trainees that they would be representing the world’s largest functional democracy as well as a very old civilization which has guided humanity over centuries.

He said that there has always been a felt need for diplomacy. Kautilya had advised the king that he must be careful in appointing his envoy who should not be greedy or foolish or tell lies and should be knowledgeable. He said that the foundation of our foreign policy was laid by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and it was based on our core civilizational values.

He stated that while serving as Union Minister of External Affairs, he had a lot of opportunity to interact with Foreign Service Officers. He advised the officer trainees to do extensive reading not only about their own country but also that of the country to which they were accredited.