He also recalled his personal connect with Mukherjee as High Commissioner to Dhaka as well as in his role as Joint Secretary in headquarters dealing with Bangladesh.
“It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing away of the former President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. On behalf of the Ministry of External Affairs, and on my own behalf, please accept our most sincere and heartfelt condolences,” he wrote in a letter to former Presidents daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee
“Shri Mukherjee’s contributions and achievements in the service of India need no recounting. He had a tremendous influence on the entire gamut of governance. As External Affairs Minister, he was instrumental in articulating and realizing several of our foreign policy priorities. The Indian Foreign Service was greatly enriched by his stellar leadership and instinctive understanding of international affairs,”
he recalled.
Mukherjee had served twice as India’s Foreign Minister and had keen interest in India’s immediate and extended neighbourhood besides India’s ties with Moscow and Washington.
“I had the privilege of working under his guidance while he headed different high offices in the Government of India. I also benefited from his insights and advice on Bangladesh as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and later as High Commissioner there. I fondly recall his 2018 visit to Bangladesh on which you accompanied him.”
“With the passing of Shri Mukherjee, we have lost a great statesman and an inspirational figure in our public life,“ the condolence letter read.
Earlier the Foreign Minister had paid his tributes to Mukherjee.