Kanwal Sibal, secretary (west) in the ministry of external affairs, will be the new foreign secretary, succeeding Chokila Iyer, who retires on June 30. A 1966-batch IFS officer, Sibal served as India's ambassador to France from 1998 before taking over early this month as secretary (west). 58-year old Sibal has served in Cairo, Washington, Turkey, Kathmandu, Lisbon, Tanzania and London besides holding important slots in Delhi. Sibal, who will takeover on July one, will have a tenure of 17 months. His appointment has been approved by the appointments committee of the cabinet, an official announcement said. Bureau Report